Cultural Events in Fez

The French Institute in Fez is presenting music and film.

MONTH OF THE DOCUMENTARY - 18 th Edition
Evening dedicated to Jean Rouch on Saturday, November 25, 19h, at Cinema Boujloud
Chronicle of a Summer.  Entry is free

Paris summer 1960, Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch interview Parisians on how they are coping with life. First question: Are you happy? The themes are varied: love, work, leisure, culture, racism etc. The film is also a questioning of documentary cinema: cinema verite and cinema-lie. Which character do we play in front of a camera and in life

JAZZ CONCERT

DUO: ERIC  LE LANN AND PAUL LAY
Tuesday, November 28, 19h, Dar Batha
Free admission (limited availability)

Eric Le Lann, trumpet player, is one of those elusive musicians who inhabits a world that is rich and varied. He went through all styles without ever denying his membership in the jazz and identity of jazz.
Paul Lay, pianist Martial Solal says has: "Excellent harmonic imagination, diverse game, the most interesting compositions obvious knowledge of jazz history, personal speech. Paul Lay everything to "rise" and last! "


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Malaysian Film Crew Capturing the Spirit of Fez

Today The View from Fez had a surprise visit from a Malaysian documentary film crew who are in the Medina to film aspects of contemporary Moroccan life

The Malaysian visit to the Medina was timed to coincide with a rehearsal by the Hamadcha Sufi Brotherhood who are in the midst of preparations for their upcoming tour to Australia.

While the Moroccan Sufi music was unfamiliar territory for the Malaysians, their enjoyment was obvious. As their "fixer" Karima said, "They are capturing the old and the new, so a chance to experience a centuries old music tradition was a wonderful bonus."

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Faces in the Medina ~ Raeshma Razvi ~ Filmmaker

Raeshma Razvi is a filmmaker with a special interest in the links between artisans and spirituality, or, to put it another way, the link between creativity and spirituality.  Her short visit to Fez is hopefully the beginning of a journey that will see her return to explore the Medina and its artizans.

Meeting her, it is obvious from the outset that Raeshma and Fez are a good mix and she doesn't hesitate to say how much she enjoys the labyrinthine nature of the place. It is also clear that with her sharp eye and quick mind she will find it easy to make the connections with the artizans.

Raeshma Razvi founder and producer at Silkworm Media & Consulting

An enduring interest is the work of the Persian poet Hafiz and Raeshma has produced some fascinating work around his poems.  Her Travels with H: Hafiz in a New World is a beautifully crafted series of video postcards. See here: http://vimeo.com/channels/hafiz

Leave the familiar for a while.
Let your senses and bodies stretch out
Like a welcomed season
Onto the meadows and shores and hills.
Open up to the Roof.
Make a new water-mark on your excitement
And love.
Like a blooming night flower,
Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness
And giving
Upon our intimate assembly.
Change rooms in your mind for a day.
All the hemispheres in existence
Lie beside an equator
In your heart. - Hafiz

Raeshma Razvi has a new documentary in the works. The working title of the documentary is intriguing - Sailor, Sufi, Spy: Robert Darr and the Journey. It features the worldly and spiritual journeys of Sausalito resident Robert Darr, a man whose life spans the diverse and disparate practices of building and sailing wooden boats, translating Persian poetry and serving as Sufi spiritual guide to a community of recently-settled Afghan refugees. Through one Californian’s story we witness the meandering path to self-realization, the upheavals caused by war, and the power of the human heart to connect across vastly different cultures and help navigate the difficult journey of being human.

Robert Darr

In America the East Bay Community Foundation has awarded her $5,000 to help launch the project on the condition that she was able to match the amount. As filmmakers know, "crowd funding" is not always easy, but in her case her supporters on Indiegogo raised the funds well ahead ahead of the deadline. See more here: http://vimeo.com/99700439

Hopefully Fez will inspire Raeshma to return with a new project - inshallah


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Spotlight on Moroccan Documentaries

Young Moroccan documentary makers are the focus of this year's International Encounters Documentary Festival of Fez, which opens tomorrow, May 28 at the Al Houria Cultural Complex and runs until May 31

This is the 8th edition of the International Encounters Documentary Film Festival, which is organised by the French Institute Fez in partnership with the Moroccan Cinema Centre.

This year the films shown will shed light on the current generation of young Moroccan filmmakers, who have chosen to work in this genre, despite small budgets and distribution opportunities. So this festival offers them the opportunity to show their work.

"We chose films that vary in terms of subject, writing and production, not to mention the background of directors, to increase awareness about what is available," said a statement released by the organisers. "The documentary is where the memory of the society is located; this is why the program we present is bursting with young filmmakers who will present their films and interact with the public. "

The public will be invited to enrich the debate. "We also invited French documentaries which are made in or about Morocco, to provide a fresh perspective and so the Moroccan public can discover these directors."

The program for this event also includes a round table discussion, during which the participants will seek alternatives offering other ways to promote the documentaries. Questions will be asked, such as, why are documentaries presented only at festivals and a few TV channels? Why don't theatres welcome documentary films? Why are professional film makers still not able to find alternatives which facilitate the process of production and distribution?

When: May 29 - 3, 5 pm to 7 pm
Where: Complex Cultural Al Houria
Cost: Free
To download the program: CLICK HERE


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