Shooting in a Hammam ~ A Challenge For Film Crew

Riad Rcif was this week chosen as the location for a film shoot in the Fez Medina. The Japanese film crew working with Production Coordinator, Momoko Nishiyama from Voice Japan, was on a tight schedule, trying to get as much footage shot as is possible in six days

The company is shooting a series of travel films in which popular Japanese actress Miho Kanno visits different countries and explores the cultures.  As Momoko Nishiyama explained,"We have been to many of the African countries but this is our first visit to Morocco and it is absolutely beautiful." 

The episode featuring Morocco will be shown next year on Tokyo TV and BS Japan - a huge audience and exposure which will certainly impact on the number of Japanese tourists visiting the kingdom.

Miho Kanno

On a tight schedule they had been in the South and arrived in Fez yesterday. The 15-strong film crew immediately set to work doing an afternoon and night shoot around the Medina and in Riad Rcif, focusing on some of the beautiful architectural details.

Today it was into the hammam. This was not an easy undertaking because of the small space, issues of water, heat and steam. Then there was the problem of finding local women willing to be filmed in the hammam.

Nora, one of the masseuses at Riad Rcif, teamed up with Rachida from Riad Zany and stepped into the hammam for what was to be a long session. 

Normally a scrub and massage in a hammam is one continuous event. Not so when being filmed. Cameraman, Koru, had an extensive shot list and each individual shot had to be lit with the limited lighting that could be fitted into the space. 

Eventually the shots were completed in around two and a half hours.

Nora and Rachida  - stars for a day

The View from Fez would like to thank Momoko Nishiyama and Riad Rcif for the opportunity to visit during the film shoot. 

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