Discoveries from Morocco World Cinema

A film in tachelhit about Baha who returns to his village and his dying mother. After she died he decides to follow his mother's will and that is to stay in the village and get married.

In a mysterious forest, a woman is slowly lured into a nostalgic daydream as she observes butterflies.

In 1959, expatriate American writer Paul Bowles published Their Heads Are Green, Their Hands are Blue, a collection of travel essays largely drawn from a three-year journey through Morocco to meet the country’s tribes and record their music. Fifty years later, directors Karim Debbagh and Jay Bulgur retrace his steps, capturing many of the same pieces of music – which are handed down from one generation to the next – on film. A mysterious soundscape of musical rituals, dealing with fertility, birth, circumcision, grief, coming of age, marriage, divorce, life, death and art, it is both a historical record and, thanks to the elevating nature of the music, food for the soul.

All that one could wish for in this life was provided to Haj Idris, a family united by love and harmony, a jewelry store and huge wealth. Everything was fine, until the day a person known as Sharif crept into the life of Haj Idris.

In the modest town of Sidi Yahia El Gharb, Haj Ali, an elderly cart driver, carries the heavy burden of grief after losing his son to a ruthless disease. Struggling to give voice to his pain, he wanders through life searching for someone with whom to share his suffering.

Rainbow Trance is an ethnographic documentary that explores the Gnawa ritual ceremony called the Lila a multi-layered musical and healing trance ritual deeply rooted in Moroccan spiritual culture.

This documentary is based on my own conversations with Driss Chraïbi one year before his death on April 1, 2007.

“Northern Rain” is a documentary that stems from the experience of the Moroccan association Assaida Al Horra and was made in collaboration with them. One of the association's many current projects is to recover the stories of some Moroccan women who participated in the struggle for the country's independence in the 1950s. The documentary focuses on these particular stories that make up Morocco's recent history. “Northern Rain” aims to show today's Moroccan women who seek their image in the mirror of time and who gratefully recover for the collective memory the history of struggle, risk, and courage of other women who until now remained hidden.

Painted, skinned, caged, abandoned among rubbish, animals are victims of exploitation and unnatural conditions imposed by humans.

Filmed in the southern Moroccan city of Assa, Palace Guardians is a compelling and detailed documentary that explores the region’s vibrant cultural legacy. Focusing on the local community, the film reveals their vital efforts to safeguard and perpetuate time-honored palace traditions, offering viewers an immersive look into this historically significant area.

"Abou Salim el-Ayachi" is a Moroccan biographical film that portrays the life of Abou Salim Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Abi Bakr Al-Ayyashi (born in Sha’ban 1037 AH / 1627 CE – died in 1090 AH / 1679 CE). He belonged to an Amazigh tribe called Ait Ayach, located in the Jabal Al-Ayachi region. A renowned traveler and Islamic scholar, he is best known for his famous travelogue "Ma’ al-Mawa’id" (The Water of Banquets). bou Salim el-Ayachi is considered one of the most prominent intellectual and religious figures of Morocco and the broader Islamic East during the 11th century AH.

The story is about a poor and lost young woman who struggles to survive through odd jobs and scams. One day, she inherits a vast fortune left to her by a father she never knew—someone she had never met before—who disinherited his own son in her favor. It’s revealed that the young woman was born from an affair the father had in Morocco 35 years ago.

Trouble arises in a northern Moroccan village when an illiterate soccer coach mistakenly purchases jerseys with the slogan "Jerusalem, capital of Israel."

This film offers a unique experience for me, as my roots and identity gradually diminished over time. The narrative of Tangier focuses on integrating the past into the present, rather than transitioning from the present to the past. Your duty is to convey these memories, not to relive or replicate them. The life you are currently living shapes the future you will experience. Therefore, be authentic and share your memories and heritage with future generations. We are here. We live.

Every night, a fisherman tells his son about his heroic adventures at the bottom of the sea. One day the child discovers the truth.

Backstage at a theater, Charlie, an actor, is preparing for a major performance when his brother Khalid calls to announce that their mother is dying. In shock, Charlie desperately tries to contact his family but encounters practical obstacles. Torn between his duty to go on stage and the urgency of seeing his mother, he is overwhelmed with despair.

Ghali is disabled and confined to a wheelchair. He studied in France where he also found love, Christine. On their return to Morocco, Ghali comes up against the difficulties of his handicap. In his situation, it is impossible to find a job, whilst Christine finds a job. Ghali decides to write his memories of childhood.

After learning that his son, Yahya, has died at sea trying to get to Spain, Ahmed Tchiche must find a way to bring his remains back home to Morocco so he and his family can have a proper goodbye. A Spanish mortician, an NGO worker and an established Moroccan immigrant living in Spain all struggle to help Ahmed navigate the complicated process of repatriation.

Our story focuses on the life experience of one person through different stages: childhood, youth, and old age. At each stage, they find themselves in a state of challenge and conflict between their desires, responsibilities, and personal values. In childhood, they are reckless and willing to pursue their desires without thinking about the consequences. In youth, they become more cautious but still struggle to resist temptations; once they follow their desires, they become prisoners of themselves. Finally, in old age, they gain wisdom, learn from their past mistakes, and strive to achieve a balance between their desires, responsibilities, and personal values. The story can be dramatic and inspiring, shedding light on the concept of personal growth and maturity through the stages of life.

Since 2016, the Moroccan government has introduced a program to scrap old taxis. Kbir is one of the few drivers still attached to his old Mercedes 240.

The film tells the story of “Daoud,” a simple employee who owns an old car. For the first time, he visits Casablanca, passing through it. His car is lost and all his family members (wife, girl, boy) are lost, and each one lives his own ordeal searching for the father who went to buy a bottle of water. He did not return until everyone met with the police.

24fps, 16mm dairy film by Pierre Parat

This cross-cultural documentary celebrating summer's joys amid adversity in Lebanon and Morocco is truly uplifting, showcasing the resilience and happiness of its subjects.

A film in tachelhit about a wise old woman who tells her story

Each night, the voice of Casablanca takes us to the door of one of her inhabitants, revealing what binds her to that character. In WALLS AND PEOPLE, the characters will share snapshots from their lives, whether it is on issues related to illegal immigration, unemployment or political cooperation.

Alone at home.

On the Moroccan coast, a man's yellow labrador is stolen while he swims. Distraught, he goes to extreme lengths to retrieve him, aided and hindered by numerous strangers in the city, all with their own agendas.

Laarbi, an old projectionist works in a movie theatre that is isolated in the countryside and is on its way to definite closure. Salman discovers, while arranging the affairs of his grandfather, old pieces of film. This is the trigger that gives him an idea that will transform the future of this Movie theatre...

Saida goes every day after school to the sea to bring in an old bucket what her father was able to fish. Deaf and dumb, she expresses her feelings through drawing, her father can't make ends meet, on the taking of the song "Lighara" by the group "Jil Jilala", he ends up making an irreversible decision...

footage from 3 different continents but with one thing in common.

Idir, a nomadic pastoralist from the tribe Ilemchan (the Ait Atta tribal confederation) was appointed by his tribe as Amghar n’Tuga (Lord of Pastures). In this film he tells us about the last nomads, their way of life, traditional pastoral systems, and the challenges threatening their survival.

After her marriage gets complicated, Noufissa decides to leave for Tetouan to film a documentary about the local feminine musical bands. Things get complicated when her husband follows her there.

What happens with women in Moroccan prisons? Walls of concrete and silence are hiding a taboo, which is difficult to remove. The director Mohamed Nabil did everything to tell the story of Moroccan women’s prison. After many difficulties and two years of waiting for a filming permit, he and his team were finally able to enter this secret world.

Barrada digs into her family history and narrates 16 myths based on unreliable narrators and unverifiable stories, illustrated with strangers’ home movies found at flea markets and archival films from the last half-century in Morocco.

Through the tragic fate of a former resistance fighter, a donkey narrates the story of the citizens who participated in the struggle against the authorities of the French protectorate during the exile of King Mohammed V, and of the traitors who collaborated with the colonizers to become rich.

Casablanca Calling is the story of a quiet social revolution in Morocco. In a country where 60% of women have never been to school, a new generation of women have started work as official Muslim leaders or Morchidat. The Morchidat work in some of the poorest communities in Morocco to separate the true teachings of Islam from prejudice and misunderstanding; support girls' education; campaign against early marriage; and encourage young people to build a better Morocco, rather than dreaming of life in the West. Casablanca Calling is an intimate portrait of three Morchidat, and the story of a society in transition and a mission to educate a nation.

The habitual criminal Roby Schmucker is sent to prison for the fourth time. He steadily begins to have confidence in his cell mate Mohammed Hiab. Together they discover the dark scheme the director has to take responsibility for. In the struggle for freedom, Roby Schmucker can bring the head of the institution to his knees.

Over the course of a single day, a young Moroccan man navigates the ordinary motions of life while fighting an extraordinary internal battle. Guided by an intimate background monologue, the film maps the heavy, unpredictable paths of anxiety, capturing the silent conflicts and choices of a mind searching for clarity.

Torn from childhood to become a soldier, Alain reveals the invisible scars of war and his struggle to find his place in a world that has cast him aside.

In a social comedy setting, Abdullah and Suad decide to tie the knot despite their advanced age, facing the challenges of "late adolescence" amidst a hectic family life. Their story intertwines with the adventures and turbulent romantic experiences of the younger generation, and the everyday ironies that reflect the clash of generations.

A short documentary set in the alleys of Darb al-Sultan, Casablanca. Through a subjective gaze, the film navigates between memory and place, where past and present intersect, and cinema becomes a tool to awaken individual and collective remembrance. Selected for the Official Competition at the Arab Film Festival in Beirut and the Golden FEMI Film Festival in Bulgaria (2026).

A static 5-minute shot of siblings having breakfast before leaving home.

This moroccan surf short film tells the story of a young berber who is torn between the loss of his fisherman father and his passion for the ocean. „The sea is my life“ he used to say. Without spoken words the film shows the internal conversations and inner turmoil of the growing boy. After the loss of his father he struggles to find happiness but eventually gathers new faith through the power of the ocean. The discovery of surfing brings him peace and joy and ultimately friendship and meaning

This is the first documentary film dedicated to Moroccan cinema; Between Desire and Uncertainty hands the microphone over to the filmmakers and film critics. Besides offering a brief historical approach, this documentary strives to identify the different movements that push Moroccan cinema. Likewise, it also makes very clear the dangers that threaten cinema’s evolution.

Mounir, a young dancer, has crossed the sea, fleeing the shifting winds of a France that’s closing in on itself. There, the sun feels familiar, but the walls speak another language. A conversation with Keltoum rekindles his doubts: how does one find a place to call home? Between two shores, an intimate journey through invisible borders and the deep longing to belong.

As the curtains rise on a new Hamlet's adaptation, an actor transitions to embody Ophelia and revive his late mother's legacy; a seductive understudy vies for the spotlight; a vengeful star threatens to unravel the play and everyone in it.

Omar, a Montreal-based Quebecois artist of Moroccan origin, transforms the challenges of his childhood into a powerful creative force. Guided by his quest for identity and his deep connection to Africa, he uses art—particularly recycled materials—to explore the nuances of his personal journey. His works, at the intersection of culture and nature, become a deeply human medium infused with emotion.

Safaa decided to settle in Casablanca, hoping for a better life than the one she was experiencing in her hometown. The beginning would certainly be difficult, but Safaa was determined to go through this experience, and initially settled in a small room in a hotel called “Casablanca

A young man lives in a dark, strange chamber, unsuitable for a decent life, trying to cope with constant disturbances from outside. One day, strange people bring him something that will change his life and lead him on a journey of contradictions, troubles and uncertainties.

After a severe injury threatens to silence his creative passion, a young man discovers that true healing lies not just in medicine, but in the unwavering support of the family and friends who help him mend both his body and his spirit.

The story of three people whose lives would be dramatically upended on June 20, 1981 in Casablanca. These events, also called the "bread riots," caused hundreds of deaths and just as many prisoners and orphans...