Creation of a new national strategy to promote the Moroccan film industry

27/07/2007

A recently announced government initiative aims to assist Morocco's beleaguered film industry. The programme envisions 40 locally-produced feature films per year by 2020, up from the current average of fifteen.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 27/07/2007

[Sarah Touahri] Promotion of the film industry in Morocco should slow cinema closures.

The Moroccan government recently announced its commitment to resolving the problems of Morocco's film industry. Prime Minister Driss Jettou held a meeting on Wednesday (July 25th) with film industry professionals (distributors, cinema operators, film technicians, directors and producers) and members of the government, to find ways to boost the art form in Morocco. The government's ultimate goal is to implement a national strategy to aid the Moroccan film industry by 2020.

In a press statement, Communications Minister Nabil Ben Abdellah stated the objective was to promote Moroccan film through the production of 40 films per year by 2020, and to improve on the 200 million-dirham turnover per year for international productions filmed in Morocco. "The strategy is also directed at countering constraints on distribution and the closure of cinemas with the construction of multipurpose auditoria in several cities across the kingdom," he explained.

According to film professionals, the campaign to increase international film production in Morocco has already begun. Nourredine Sail, Director-General of the Moroccan Film Centre, has indicated "the importance of opening up to foreign productions in a rational and serious way, because this brings not only the financing Morocco needs, along with its economic repercussions, but also training. The film industry gains enormously in professionalism."

The film industry appears optimistic. During the meeting representatives said Morocco is a very attractive destination for foreign producers, and the phenomenon can only grow.

The first National Audiovisual and Film Production Conference, held in July 2006, put forward several recommendations aimed at stimulating the audiovisual and film industry, in particular by setting up a national production charter. Industry professionals are unanimous in saying the sector has made great strides in terms of quantity and quality, and that it now finds itself included in the great international festivals.

Mohamed Belghiti, President of the Moroccan Chamber of Cinema Operators, expressed his satisfaction with the new initiative. He said the film representatives left the government meeting with real hope that there is a desire to save the industry. He noted one new project in particular, the future establishment of a Higher Institute for Film and Audiovisual Activities, to be called the GIPFORMAC.

In February 2007, the Commission for Assistance in Film Production awarded 14.7 million dirhams to eight film production projects as a pre-production advance for six feature films and two short films.

The government's goal of 40 films per year by 2020 is a significant increase from the current average of fifteen feature length films and around forty short films per year. There are currently around thirty production companies in the country. Sail said that Moroccan film-makers "are proving more and more, through the diversity of their work and the richness of their imagination, that they are building the foundations of a real national film movement."