Local filmmakers and the history of Moroccan cinema
The history of Moroccan cinema began in 1897, when the Lumière brothers and their operators travelled the globe in search of new images. It was Louis Lumière himself who directed The Moroccan Goatherd, the first film shot in Morocco. Thereafter, the Moroccan film industry was managed by the French colonial power until the country's independence. Local production was strongly muzzled by these restrictions and by the censorship imposed by the occupying power. It is therefore necessary to wait until 1958 to discover the first (almost) Moroccan feature film, Le Fils maudit, by Mohamed Ousfour. A little nugget of cinema that seems to come from another time, but that will inspire a whole generation of Moroccan filmmakers. Nevertheless, it will take a few more years for the cinema to go beyond the national borders. Films such as Alyam Alyam (1978) and Transes (1981) by director Ahmed El Maânouni contributed to this notoriety. The latter will even be restored in the early 2000s, presented by Martin Scorsese himself at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007. Since the foundation of the Marrakech International Film Festival in 2001, a new breath of fresh air has been injected into the Moroccan film industry. Films such as Selma Bargach's The Fifth String (2011), Raouf Sebbahi's Hayat (2017) or Nabil Ayouch's Casablanca Beats (2021) have been praised by critics and awarded at major festivals. A real inspiration for young national filmmakers, for whom Marrakech and Essaouira are fertile ground for the development of universal stories.
A long history of international filming
Long before the rise of its national cinema, Morocco was the scene of numerous film shoots in Hollywood and elsewhere. And even if the great desert scenes and mythical sets are more likely to be found in the Ouarzazate region - don't hesitate to make a detour there if you get the chance - you'll be able to recognize the backdrops of great films in the backstreets of Essaouira and Marrakech. In 1949, Orson Welles filmed his Othello between Venice and Morocco. One of his finest films, this Shakespearean tragedy was produced, directed and starred in by a one-man band. Another great name in cinema, Alfred Hitchcock, filmed in Marrakech the remake of his own 1934 film adaptation, The Man Who Knew Too Much. Released in 1956, this film, part spy thriller - a genre so dear to the English master of suspense - finds Ben (James Stewart) and Jo (Doris Day) embroiled in an espionage affair while spending a few days in Morocco with their son Hank. Even though the film was shot over sixty years ago, you'll easily recognize the Jemaâ el-Fna square, the Koutoubia or the Saadian tombs and Bab Agnaou and Doukkala, as impressive as ever.
With its millennia-old architecture and ageless landscapes, the region has long been a magnet for historical films, peplums and epic frescoes. Shot entirely in Morocco, between Meknes, the Grand Atlas and Marrakech, Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) is one such film. Willem Dafoe plays Jesus, while Harvey Keitel, one of the director's favorite actors, appears as Judas. A decade later, three blockbusters well known to peplum fans made a stop in the region. In 1999, The Mummy starring Brendan Fraser used Marrakech and the region's desert expanses to represent Egypt. In 2000, Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000) was filmed in Morocco, at the renowned Atlas Corporation Studios, not far from Ouarzazate. A few hours from Marrakech, you can also discover the fascinating ksar of Aït-ben-Haddou, where some of the film's scenes were shot. Finally, in 2004, filmmaker Oliver Stone set foot in Essaouira for Alexander, with an impressive cast including Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Jared Leto, Val Kilmer and Rosario Dawson. The surrounding landscape of mountains, valleys, fields and rivers is the perfect backdrop for Alexander's native Macedonia. The director returned to the region to shoot Kingdom of Heaven (2005), in which the Kasbah of Essaouira becomes the Jerusalem of yesteryear. In addition to peplums, the revival of the Moroccan film industry has also attracted a number of big-budget shoots, both European and American. In Sex and the City 2 (2010), for example, Marrakech takes the place of Abu Dhabi. You can immerse yourself in the film by strolling through the Mouassine district, and some shopkeepers will even show you photos taken with the stars of the cast, such as Sarah Jessica Parker. The city of Marrakech appears again in Mission Impossible 5 (2015), where Ethan Hunt stops off for a moment with his team being hunted by the CIA. Want to relive those moments in the film? Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg stay at the Hotel Tigmi, before fleeing through the streets of Marrakech, pursued by agent William Brandt, played by Jeremy Renner. In Europe, Yvan Attal and Claude Lelouch both filmed in Marrakech and Essaouira, a few years apart. The former directed the comedy Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants in 2004 in Marrakech, while the latter shot And now, ladies and gentlemen (2002) in Essaouira, a drama centered on two people fleeing their past, played by Jeremy Irons and Patricia Kaas.
A small step in the Game of Thrones universe
Among the emblematic places of the series, the city of Essaouira occupies a place of choice in the third season as the city of Astapor, capital of the Unsullied (or Unsullied in original version). It is here that Daenerys acquires the army that will lead her to the Iron Throne. On her way, Queen Targaryen will also pass through the city of Yunkai, which you will recognize as the ksar of Ait-ben-Haddu. Take advantage of your visit to find the filming locations of this mythical series, while enjoying these unique architectures.
