Discoveries from Morocco World Cinema

Moroccan TV movie, its events revolve around the situation of a poor family living in one of the marginal neighbourhoods in the old city of Casablanca.

A well-to-do bourgeois, Tartarin lives in Tarascon, a small southern town, among friends who, like him, love hunting "à la casquette", gossip, aperitifs and thought-provoking journeys. Imaginative like all his compatriots, Tartarin ended up believing he had once been to Shanghai, so fervently did he recount his illusory adventures. It was even rumored that Tartarin was about to leave for Africa to hunt wild beasts, and this was so insistent that the brave man, urged on by his friends, was forced "for the sake of honor" to embark. He arrives in Casablanca, surprised to discover a modern city and not a single lion. But a charming Moorish woman, Baïa, seduces him, and Tartarin indulges in the "delights of Capua". This euphoria is short-lived: Baïa disappears, a false prince, mostly a swindler, finds a replacement and sets off on a hunting expedition in southern Morocco, which will only earn Tartarin the loss of his savings and a blind old lion dragged along by two beggars.

Mona, a young Parisienne, learns that her real father is Moroccan. The only traces of his existence are a name, Mahmoud Saber, a black-and-white photo and a love letter to her mother. She decides to set off for Morocco in search of this man, whose existence turns out to be enigmatic, on a journey that takes her from Casablanca to Essaouira and turns into a journey of discovery.

A portrait of the groundbreaking Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane, documenting a series of electrifying live performances in Tunisia, Morocco, and France; on the streets of Casablanca; and in intimate conversations. Storytellers through song and traditional instruments, and with connections to political theatre, the band became a local phenomenon and an international sensation, thanks to their rebellious lyrics and sublime, fully acoustic sound, which draws on Berber rhythms, Malhun sung poetry, and Gnawa dances.

a relationship is tested in the midst of workers' strike.

This Jungo Life offers an intimate and raw look into the hidden lives of young refugees and asylum seekers from Sudan and South Sudan, living on the streets of Morocco. Forced to flee violence and chaos, they remain stranded, unable to return home due to the ongoing wars ravaging their countries. Filmed entirely on mobile phones, the documentary provides unprecedented access to their world, capturing the reality of their daily struggles. The resilience of the human spirit and the fierce drive for survival is underscored, as they fight to build a better future for themselves and the families they’ve left behind.

Amina is on a trip to the North where her husband is imprisoned for a drug case. When her car breaks down, she meets Lalla Rahma, an old lady who must also go to the North to make sure that her son did not die while illegally crossing the sea to Europe.

Mattia is 17 years old. Raised in a post-industrial province and experiencing an identity crisis, he is the son of a trade unionist and a housewife. Hypersensitive and fragile, he expresses himself through hip-hop music. The death of his older brother begins a period of great changes. Mattia leaves school, starts working in a factory and, through a North African colleague, approaches Islam. Prey to a lacerating restlessness, Mattia takes the path of progressive isolation and radicalization.

Malika, a mathematics professor faces deep problems with her husband. As a result, she seeks treatment from psychiatrist Omar, who tries hard to instill hope in her and make her cling to life.

In completely innocuous circumstances, Marouane meets young Hakim, a young aphasic, confined to a wheelchair who has chosen to live away from the world, alone with his inner demons. Interfering in his secret worlds will not be without consequences for Marouane.

The story of the film revolves around the life of a young man who despite living in poverty, is struggling to become a lawyer and then devoted his life to defending and helping the neighborhood comrades

Bouchaib, a 60-year-old retired soldier; lives in loneliness and extreme depression, in an apartment in the center of Casablanca, one morning, he decides to leave the city and go in search of an "orange tree" in the middle of nature, compatible with suicide.

this film shows the resistance of Berber villagers in the High Atlas against the representatives of the Moroccan administration in the 1960s.

The routines of two women fuse together as their similar gestures get repeated over time. Their hands intersect through their shared memory one movement at a time. The daily routine of Hayat in her absolute loneliness builds as she tries to recollect memories of her grandmother. We observe both their lives separately, the gestures of both women seem to be in an ongoing, subtle dialogue. The rhythm of the events slowly forms itself as their days go by. Eventually, the bond between them unravels the motherly love that unites them.

Mehdi, a young quadriplegic man living with his mother, receives an unexpected gift on his birthday. Through an intimate and sensitive atmosphere, this Moroccan short film by Sara Mikayil explores freedom, desire, and confinement.

Hayat is released after serving a long prison sentence. She returns to her hometown in northern Morocco, where she finds herself faced with a brother who refuses to welcome her for fear of shame. Hayat merely wishes to see her son so she can explain the truth to him. She meets Amal, who works in a fruit factory and takes care of Houda, her sister who is two years her junior and suffers from a severe disability. The courage and strength of these three women drives them forward in the face of exclusion, exploitation and marginalization.

Kamel Raoui, a young police inspector in Tanger, investigates the murder of drug-dealer Hakim Tahiri. The victim's mistress Touria, just living for her fatally-ill younger brother Pipo, is considered the main suspect, so Kamel learns more and more about their hard life circumstances. During the observation, the sexually-confused Kamel falls in love with the young woman, but realizes the imminence for Touria and Pipo too late.

Ahmed Guessous loses his parents during the war of Gaza in 1924. He will be found and adopted by Lieutenant Bourget Bourget keep him under his protection until he died a few months later. The friend of Bourget, Gassiaux, who promised his friend to keep this child, take him and educate him without giving him the love of a father.

On the eve of her 30th birthday, Cathy discovers to her amazement that life has not been kind to her, especially her parents, her fiancé, her boss, and society. At this moment, the worst day of her life begins; in other words, a terrible day in a sardonic Casablanca will redefine her destiny. Cathy decides to start over and seeks to immigration, but things don’t go as planned..

Three love stories whose protagonists are neglected people whose destinies intersect in unexpected ways.

A fearless man, unconcerned with danger or the unknown, deliberately puts himself in a risky situation—only to face shocking, unpredictable consequences he never imagined.

One night, Khalid, a young man, finds himself desperately looking for a lighter to light his cigarette, wandering through the streets late at night. At the same time, Youssef, a simple and hungry man, steps out of his home with a clear goal: to buy bread from a nearby shop. Meanwhile, Nabil, another young man, is driving through those same streets, lost in memories of a past love. Overcome with nostalgia, he drifts deeper into his thoughts.

A young mother in Morocco, trapped in a mundane existence, confronts her dreams and fears, leading to the agonising decision to forsake all she knows, even her children.

A young architect who lives in Paris, returns to his hometown Fès in Morocco to find answers to his painful childhood. His old Sufi master Ba Jelloul and his friend Aziz try to help him reconstruct himself.

Amal and her husband Kamal split up in a great confusion and misunderstanding. Each one believes he's been abandoned by the other. Several years later, Amal undertakes a search for her husband, along with her brother-in-law, Redouane.

The film tells the story of a small village that experiences strange events during the night, when a monster comes out and eats chickens and cattle. The inhabitants of the village recruit for the guard and discover the secret of the creature which leaves the traces of a camel.

Demande d’Emploi is the story of three young Moroccans from working-class neighborhoods, graduates and unemployed, looking for work, but also a love story in the background.

In the Gnawa tradition, the authentic Maâlem is the one who crafts his own musical instrument. Here, the Gnawa Maâlem Essaddiq has damaged his sintir and must create a new one using the traditional process. For him, it's impossible to play an instrument made by someone else...

It begins with a chance encounter between Ro and Ju on a film set. A conventional love film? The characters not only change bodies, identities and desires over seven countries. They struggle with perceptions of themselves and others, fail because of bad scripts, a lack of visas, social expectations or their own demands. The film shows that love is both individual and universal at the same time. It shows diversity in action and not only dispels prejudices about gender relations and sexism in different corners of the world, but also touches on topical issues such as the war in Ukraine. The film is an ode to love and a declaration of love to filmmaking. Film sets, the madness and confusion of film production and the excitement before the premiere are also themes of the film.

A woman in her forties plans to expand her business, open up to the international market, and look for new partners. She then presents a proposal to investors from Russia, who send a financial analyst to study it. The work meeting that brings them together in the city of Marrakech for a week becomes the beginning of a romantic relationship that develops between them.

Amin is a teenage boy who lives with his two sisters, Kenza and Saida, in Tangier. Tragedy strikes when Saida is raped by the son of the man Kenza works for as a maid. The father threatens the girl not to press any charges against his son since he is running for elections.

The film tells the story of the creation of the first hydroelectric power stations in Morocco — Flilou and Sidi Saïd — which were built by the French company Penarroya to supply electricity to the Ahouli mines. The goal was to facilitate drilling operations for the extraction of lead ore. It also highlights the village of Tattiwine, located about 12 kilometers from Midelt, which served as the main water source for the Flilou station. Additionally, it covers the Sidi Saïd power station, which was supplied with water by a nearby dam to generate electricity.

Aziz Ben Achour's relationship with his French wife ended when she decided to leave Morocco with their son Karim. This change in Aziz's life would not be temporary; his son's absence left a huge void, impacting him and his work in art and film directing. Over time, Aziz met Maryam, who worked in a café and cared for a child with special needs. With her, he embarked on a new experience that would change his outlook on life.

A detective investigates the death of a very controversial architect.

Le Regard is Nour-Eddine Lakhmari's first film. It is a film about abuse of power, guilt, and redemption. In Le Regard, 70-year-old French photographer Albert Tueis finds himself confronted with his past. As he prepares for an exhibition that will bring together all the works from his photographic career, he remembers the photos he took at the age of 19. A soldier during Morocco's war of independence, the young Albert was a photographer for the French army. The photos he took at the time were never published. One thing is clear: without these photos, the retrospective of his career will not be complete. Albert Tuies decides to return to Morocco to find the negatives he buried there. But he finds himself confronted with a new Morocco. And as he encounters the present and the rivalries and difficulties it hides, increasingly powerful and brutal images from the past resurface.

The young farmer Abdelwahad has been the head of the family since his father’s death. Struggling to feed his seven brothers, and discouraged by the lack of prospects, he becomes attracted by the offer of a relative to go and work in France.

The story tells about the bad luck of Mustafa, a farmer who is attacked along his trip to the souk while he was going to sell a cow and a chicken. He swears to give the money from the sale of these animals to the poor if he ever manages to get out of it, but does not keep his promise. The wrath of God will be unleashed upon him.

Summer 1955. Kamal, an 11 year old boy of the Medina of Fez, is experiencing the last months before Morocco's independence. With Aïcha and the students of the Qaraouiyine, he discovers and takes part in the fight for freedom. These 3 months will change his life.

The story of four Moroccan women who reunite after a period of estrangement. Their happy facades mask a lot of misery and pain, caused by divorce and betrayals as one of them discovers that the man she loves is cheating on her with one of her closest friends.

Asso, a religious man in his forties, is an extremist. He loves his family, but has to face the dilemma of choosing between his wife and the Islamic strict rules.

One act is enough to condemn a life forever.

A story of Arabo-Andalusian music form of which Nuba could be seen as the symphonic form. In the image of a musical tree, its branches are nourished by a sap that, for the past 14 centuries, rose from the fringes of Morocco and currents of Arabia, grew in the courts of the Andalusian Caliphs, grew more robust in medieval Spain, melded with the songs of the troubadours and the Sephardics, then, replanted in the Maghreb, blossomed in Morocco under the name "el Ala". Birth. Apogee, Decline, the three phases of El andalus civilization, left their mark in the eastern muwashshah, Alfonso X’s cantigas of Santa Maria, in the Sephardic songs and the sanâa, the art of the nûba as it still exists around the Mediterranean. Dawn, Evening, Night inspires musicians and poets of the nuba imbued with the light of day, inhabited by human sentiments and temperaments, sustained by a public and artists who, from Tangiers to Tel Aviv, perform it in vibrant communion.

The residents of a small Moroccan city endure separate lives while knowing the same cycles of burden and small joys. Wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters maneuver their way through mourning as death takes loved ones and life insists on moving forward. Here, letting go is a challenge for both the dead and the living. The people of this city share the same world, but don't always know when they live in each other's lives, helping and harming each other. Connected by friendship, proximity, and blood, they both destroy and support each other. Through weddings, funerals, murders, forgiveness, love, new birth, and sacrifice, the living build community and hope. Meanwhile, the souls of the dead linger to watch over loved ones.

After overwhelming grief hits a wealthy Casablanca family, a house servant travels to America to seek out their long lost son. He discovers a startling look-alike in a poor neighbourhood and begins an elaborate ploy to comfort the family.

A man convinces his brother-in-law to marry a foreign womanl to facilitate his obtainment of foreign nationality and improve their living conditions, but an unpleasant surprise awaits the brothers as the girl's scheme gradually unfolds.

The story follows two women who travel to Morocco to adopt a baby, leading to an emotional journey of motherhood and human connection.

The path of a poor artist who quickly climbs the ladder of fame thanks to his voice and talent.

On the eve of her 30th birthday, Cathy discovers to her amazement that life has not been kind to her - especially her parents, her fiancé, her boss, and society. At this moment, the worst day of her life begins; in other words, a terrible day in a sardonic Casablanca will redefine her destiny. Cathy decides to start over and seeks to immigrate, but things don’t go as planned.

In Tetouan, at the northern edge of Morocco, three young men decide to rob a jewelry store. The heist goes awry, and their destinies part drastically.

Daoud awaits the most important day of his life, the day he will meet the wealthy future father-in-law, to ask him to marry his daughter Ibtisam, but ahead of time to meet him David will face events that will change the course of the story

Ahmed Bouanani’s first feature film played a pivotal role in bringing experimentalism to Moroccan cinema. It’s a fable-like story of a poor young farmer who finds treasure in a flour bag. This takes him on a journey where nothing is as it seems. The film’s narrative structure frequently makes reference to mythology and literature, utilizing Morocco’s rich history and oral traditions.

Lotfi, a census enumerator (counting demographics) or at least that's what he claims. Visits a neighborhood full of nutcases to interview and "count" them but everything quickly turns into a huge mess in a hilarious comedic frame full of twists about the Moroccan society..

The members of a debt-ridden family reunite in an evanescent Tangier, running away from painful memories but at the same time clinging to a past they do not want to forget. Their childhood home and its magnificent estate are due to be sold in early autumn; increasingly, summer days fade into distant memory.

Soundouss and Jaâfar, two gay youths from Casablanca, spend the summer in Cabo Negro in the north of Morocco, at a villa rented by Jaâfar’s American lover—who does not show up. The friends decide to stay in the villa and do the best they can.

Salem and Souilem are two brothers with a disability who are trying to impose themselves within their community with funny situations through which the viewer discovers the suffering and reality of the disabled person in Moroccan society.

Sara has just come out of a divorce that affected her deeply when she meets Said. They fall in love and get married, but the question arises, will this new marriage be enough to exorcise the demons of the past and allow for a happy life?

This film, the first in what has become a semi-autobiographical trilogy for Smihi, follows the everyday experiences of Mohamed-Larbi Salmi against the changing Moroccan society. In 1950s Tangier, Larbi Salmi is a young, timid, pre-teen, boy, trying to make sense of the gentle religious upbringing of his father, the secular education offered him in French school, and his budding desires for the forbidden pleasures of the cinema and the women he meets through it.

Aravane Rézaï hates tennis. Yet, at the age of 23, she won the Madrid Open, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. She bested some of the biggest names in women's tennis, including Venus Williams, Justine Henin, and Marion Bartoli. The road to being named world champion was open to her. Then, at 24, she disappeared from the circuit overnight. Today, Rézaï is 37 and making a comeback, aiming to return to the world's top 10. To get there, she has called on her old coach: her father, the man behind her past success—and suffering. Through the prism of this sporting challenge, And Still I Rise examines the relationship between a father and his daughter, and her ability to achieve emancipation.