The 2nd Annual Moroccan Film Festival is gearing up to make a splash at New York’s TriBeca Cinemas this November 18th and 19th. Tickets are officially on sale at the box office so don’t miss your chance to attend the opening night gala and reception following the screening of Selma Bergach’s, La 5eme Corde.
The following day, choose from a variety of Moroccan films to see, such as Ali Zaoua, Mektoub, Shikhates Blues, or Amores Voilées.
These photographs are from my friend, Jean-Michel André’s body of work, called “Maroc épuré.” The preface to his book was written by Tahar Ben Jelloun who comments on the raw intimacy that Jean-Michel manages to capture in these stark moments in time throughout Morocco:
Les photographies de Jean-Michel André qu’il rassemble dans cet ouvrage sont faites au Maroc, à Rabat, Tanger, Azemmour, Tafraoute, Marrakech, Tiznit et Casablanca. C’est un Maroc intérieur, intime, invisible. L’image s’érige en mystique de ce qu’on ne voit pas, de ce qu’on ne sait plus voir. Le regard maintient l’énigme au sommet puisque le pays est là mais dans une nudité qui nous fait baisser les yeux.
Tahar Ben Jelloun, Tanger 5 août 2009
{as the curator of the Moroccan Film Festival’s art exhibit, I’ve been researching different Moroccan artists and those who make art about Morocco}
Georgette Benisty, born and raised in Casablanca, now calls Boston home. While her earlier work was based in the haute couture of fashion and dress making, in the last several years she has begun to make these stoically beautiful dolls, stitched together with broken cloth fragments, drawn from the colors, rhythms, architecture and antiquities of Morocco.
{as the curator of the Moroccan Film Festival’s art exhibit, I’ve been researching different Moroccan artists and those who make art about Morocco}
Casablanca-based artist Amina Agueznay was trained as an architect before she turned her skills to making art, specifically the jewelry you see featured in these photographs. “Taking it apart and putting it back together, construction-deconstruction became her work method, which led Agueznay to take inspiration from Berber tradition.”
{as the curator of the Moroccan Film Festival’s art exhibit, I’ve been researching different Moroccan artists and those who make art about Morocco}
a {Moroccan Film Festival}
a {Moroccan Red Carpet Gala}
an {Art Exhibit} during the opening reception of Moroccan art and artists … and I’m curating it …
The second Moroccan Film Festival is gearing up to make a splash at Tribeca Cinemas in October. Stay tuned via their Facebook page for more sneak preview information about the films that will be featured and the artists that will present their work on opening night during the festival’s Moroccan Red Carpet Gala.
‘Take Me Away’ by Assia Lakhlif is one of the short films that will be shown at the NY Arab and South Asian Short Video Slam
Every summer, Rabiah and her daughters leave Belgium to visit their home city of Taza, Morocco. When the eldest gets engaged to her crush, they must travel to his village for the celebration. On the trip to the wedding, a mother strives to fulfill her duties while a daughter absorbed in the bride allure, finds herself on the path to becoming a woman. The three women set on a journey that will evoke and test their complex dreams.
Born in Casablanca, Assia Lakhlif grew up in Morocco and New York. She is a writer and director with a background in visual arts, painting and photography. She studied Art at The Cooper Union receiving her BFA in 2005. She went on to study film and completed her graduate studies at The California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles earning her Masters in film and video in 2008. Her work and films have been shown at Newfilmmakers LA, West Hollywood, Cannes, Future Shorts, Art Dubai, LACMA and The Jordan Short Festival, among others.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Free & Open to the Public • Doors Open 6:30pm, begins at 7:00pm
Alwan for the Arts (16 Beaver Street, 4th Floor, between Broad and Broadway)
We will present the best in recent short videos that were submitted to an open call, that increase awareness of the creative vitality and sociopolitical realities of North Africa, the Middle East, Iran, South Asia, and their diasporas.
High Atlas Foundation’s 2nd Annual Moroccan Film Festival
Coming soon to Tribeca Cinemas near you…
