At first glance, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”, “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Sex and the City 2” seem to have little in common. But, look closer, past the swordplay, the machineguns and designer outfits, and you might notice some similarities in the scenery.
While the first film is set in sixth-century Persia, the second takes place in conservative Saudi Arabia and the third is set in modern-day Abu Dhabi; all three productions were shot entirely or partly in Morocco.
Thanks to its low costs, nice weather, bright sky, and big dunes, Morocco, is always attractive to many Western filmmakers. What many people don’t know is that this interest in Morocco as an exotic filming location is nothing new. Overall, foreign film productions brings in between USD 50 million to USD 100 million in revenue to Morocco each year.
In fact, Morocco’s filming history dates back to 1922, with the shooting of Franz Toussaint's “Inch'Allah”, followed by Josef Von Sternberg's 1930 “Morocco” (Burned hearts), Alfred Hitchcock's “The Man Who Knew Too Much” in 1956, and David Lean's “Lawrence of Arabia” in 1962, just to mention a few.
In the last three decades, other eminent filmmakers came to Moroccan film locations and filmed some of the biggest movies in cinema’s history. One example is American director Ridley Scott, who shot several films in Morocco including the historical epic “Gladiator” (2000), “Kingdom of Heaven” (2003), “Black Hawk Down” (2001), and the spy thriller “Body of Lies” (2007). Martin Scorses’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988) and “Kundun” (1997), as well as Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” in 2004 were also shot in Morocco.
You may wonder what persuades all these filmmakers to come and shoot their movies in Morocco. The answer can be provided in three simple words: simplicity, creativity, and tolerance.
Firstly, Morocco’s simplicity lies in its beautiful natural landscape, including vast deserts, medieval cities. and soaring mountains, which have appeared in thousands of films and television series, depicting Tibet, Jerusalem, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and even New Mexico. That is one aspect, but the second, which some consider the most important, is openness and tolerance.
Unlike its North African neighbours Algeria and Libya, Morocco, has no petroleum or natural gas. Apart from being Africa’s largest agricultural producer, the country depends on tourism to diversify its economy, and what is better than a big Hollywood movie to get the ball rolling?
Moreover, as an Islamic country, Morocco offers a large degree of tolerance and openness when it comes to Western films.
Ahmed Abounouom, founder of Dune Films, which managed the Moroccan production for “Prince of Persia” and pre-production for “Sex and the City 2”, says that Morocco’s reputation for tolerance is as much of an asset as its golden sands. Abu Dhabi and Dubai, for example, reportedly refused the makers of “Sex and the City 2” permits to shoot there.
“Dubai or Morocco; both of them are Muslim countries and to talk about sex is taboo,” Abounouom told the Global Post website in March 2012. “But in Morocco, we’re not really conservative. Morocco is very close to Europe, so people hold to the religion but at the same time they want to have a modern country.”
Morocco is home to a number of qualified production companies, filmmakers, and professionals, with experience in working with international directors. What sets Morocco apart from other Arab countries, is that global film producers can rely on local talent during filming.
Many Moroccan technicians gathered a decade's experience working with the Italian television series “The Bible,” which told stories of the Bible (1993-1996). Additionally, Morocco can offer a basic infrastructure of studios and decor workshops, especially in the town of Zagora and the city of Ouarzazate, where studios were constructed for “Thousand and One Nights” (1990) and “Asterix and Obelix Meet Cleopatra” (2002).
Alongside the technical and logistic factors, the Moroccan state supports filmmaking with tax exemptions on equipment and materials purchased or leased inside the country. Easy access is also provided for supplies to enter or leave the country for film crews, according to Abdelhai Laraki, a Moroccan producer and director.
Laraki has established the film production company “Casablanca Film” in 1990, from which he made and directed international prize winning films, beginning with his first production experience “Mona Saber” in 2000. He recently established another production company, “Zen Zero” that produced his latest feature film, “Love in the Medina” (2011).
Laraki has vast experience in joint productions with European filmmakers and in overseeing international filming inside Morocco. Some of these joint projects include French-Moroccan film “Le Grand Voyage” (2004) by Ismaël Ferroukhi, “Volver” (2004) and Serge Le Péron's “I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed” (2005). Moreover, several drama series have been jointly produced by teams in Moroccan television, such as “Occupation,” a BAFTA award winning three part drama series broadcast on BBC One in 2009. The series follows the fortunes of three British Army soldiers from the 2003 invasion of the Iraqi city Basra.: filming took place in Morocco and Ireland.
According to Laraki, local production companies entering the film industry should have credits for at least two film productions in their portfolio, and they should have Moroccans onboard who have worked with foreign crews, so that they can benefit from their experiences.
Laraki explains that in epic US movies such as Ridley Scott's “Kingdom of Heaven”, the Moroccan army took part in several war scenes, and also employed skilled Moroccan horse riders often used to perform difficult scenes that required professional stunt doubles. He also noted how private Moroccan companies were able to buy helicopters to film some scenes from the sky.
“I believe that joint productions and international filming inside Morocco and the process of exchanging technical experience is very important for us,” Laraki notes.
He gives the example of “The Source” (La Source des Femmes), which was filmed in Morocco and screened at Cannes and Abu Dhabi film festivals. The film, which portrays a group of women who live in a small village and decide to boycott their husbands in the bedroom for being forced to fetch water from a faraway well, is a joint French, Belgian, Italian and Moroccan production with a Romanian director.
Laraki says that 10% of the film's budget was secured by a Moroccan television channel and the Ministry of Tourism, and this helped when it came to making joint arrangements between the respected countries. This setup makes the film distribution process easier at a later stage as it can be shown in Moroccan cinemas as a Moroccan production, and in French cinemas as French, and so on.
As for the effect of the economic downtown on any future production, Laraki argues, “Culture, and thus film production, is always the first victim of any financial crisis.” Nevertheless, Laraki stresses that his country has plenty to offer.
“Morocco has become a favourite location for many Hollywood and European filmmakers, while developing its own significant film offerings,” he concludes. “No financial crisis can change that.”
While the first film is set in sixth-century Persia, the second takes place in conservative Saudi Arabia and the third is set in modern-day Abu Dhabi; all three productions were shot entirely or partly in Morocco.
Thanks to its low costs, nice weather, bright sky, and big dunes, Morocco, is always attractive to many Western filmmakers. What many people don’t know is that this interest in Morocco as an exotic filming location is nothing new. Overall, foreign film productions brings in between USD 50 million to USD 100 million in revenue to Morocco each year.
In fact, Morocco’s filming history dates back to 1922, with the shooting of Franz Toussaint's “Inch'Allah”, followed by Josef Von Sternberg's 1930 “Morocco” (Burned hearts), Alfred Hitchcock's “The Man Who Knew Too Much” in 1956, and David Lean's “Lawrence of Arabia” in 1962, just to mention a few.
In the last three decades, other eminent filmmakers came to Moroccan film locations and filmed some of the biggest movies in cinema’s history. One example is American director Ridley Scott, who shot several films in Morocco including the historical epic “Gladiator” (2000), “Kingdom of Heaven” (2003), “Black Hawk Down” (2001), and the spy thriller “Body of Lies” (2007). Martin Scorses’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988) and “Kundun” (1997), as well as Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” in 2004 were also shot in Morocco.
You may wonder what persuades all these filmmakers to come and shoot their movies in Morocco. The answer can be provided in three simple words: simplicity, creativity, and tolerance.
Firstly, Morocco’s simplicity lies in its beautiful natural landscape, including vast deserts, medieval cities. and soaring mountains, which have appeared in thousands of films and television series, depicting Tibet, Jerusalem, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and even New Mexico. That is one aspect, but the second, which some consider the most important, is openness and tolerance.
Unlike its North African neighbours Algeria and Libya, Morocco, has no petroleum or natural gas. Apart from being Africa’s largest agricultural producer, the country depends on tourism to diversify its economy, and what is better than a big Hollywood movie to get the ball rolling?
Moreover, as an Islamic country, Morocco offers a large degree of tolerance and openness when it comes to Western films.
Ahmed Abounouom, founder of Dune Films, which managed the Moroccan production for “Prince of Persia” and pre-production for “Sex and the City 2”, says that Morocco’s reputation for tolerance is as much of an asset as its golden sands. Abu Dhabi and Dubai, for example, reportedly refused the makers of “Sex and the City 2” permits to shoot there.
“Dubai or Morocco; both of them are Muslim countries and to talk about sex is taboo,” Abounouom told the Global Post website in March 2012. “But in Morocco, we’re not really conservative. Morocco is very close to Europe, so people hold to the religion but at the same time they want to have a modern country.”
Morocco is home to a number of qualified production companies, filmmakers, and professionals, with experience in working with international directors. What sets Morocco apart from other Arab countries, is that global film producers can rely on local talent during filming.
Many Moroccan technicians gathered a decade's experience working with the Italian television series “The Bible,” which told stories of the Bible (1993-1996). Additionally, Morocco can offer a basic infrastructure of studios and decor workshops, especially in the town of Zagora and the city of Ouarzazate, where studios were constructed for “Thousand and One Nights” (1990) and “Asterix and Obelix Meet Cleopatra” (2002).
Alongside the technical and logistic factors, the Moroccan state supports filmmaking with tax exemptions on equipment and materials purchased or leased inside the country. Easy access is also provided for supplies to enter or leave the country for film crews, according to Abdelhai Laraki, a Moroccan producer and director.
Laraki has established the film production company “Casablanca Film” in 1990, from which he made and directed international prize winning films, beginning with his first production experience “Mona Saber” in 2000. He recently established another production company, “Zen Zero” that produced his latest feature film, “Love in the Medina” (2011).
Laraki has vast experience in joint productions with European filmmakers and in overseeing international filming inside Morocco. Some of these joint projects include French-Moroccan film “Le Grand Voyage” (2004) by Ismaël Ferroukhi, “Volver” (2004) and Serge Le Péron's “I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed” (2005). Moreover, several drama series have been jointly produced by teams in Moroccan television, such as “Occupation,” a BAFTA award winning three part drama series broadcast on BBC One in 2009. The series follows the fortunes of three British Army soldiers from the 2003 invasion of the Iraqi city Basra.: filming took place in Morocco and Ireland.
According to Laraki, local production companies entering the film industry should have credits for at least two film productions in their portfolio, and they should have Moroccans onboard who have worked with foreign crews, so that they can benefit from their experiences.
Laraki explains that in epic US movies such as Ridley Scott's “Kingdom of Heaven”, the Moroccan army took part in several war scenes, and also employed skilled Moroccan horse riders often used to perform difficult scenes that required professional stunt doubles. He also noted how private Moroccan companies were able to buy helicopters to film some scenes from the sky.
“I believe that joint productions and international filming inside Morocco and the process of exchanging technical experience is very important for us,” Laraki notes.
He gives the example of “The Source” (La Source des Femmes), which was filmed in Morocco and screened at Cannes and Abu Dhabi film festivals. The film, which portrays a group of women who live in a small village and decide to boycott their husbands in the bedroom for being forced to fetch water from a faraway well, is a joint French, Belgian, Italian and Moroccan production with a Romanian director.
Laraki says that 10% of the film's budget was secured by a Moroccan television channel and the Ministry of Tourism, and this helped when it came to making joint arrangements between the respected countries. This setup makes the film distribution process easier at a later stage as it can be shown in Moroccan cinemas as a Moroccan production, and in French cinemas as French, and so on.
As for the effect of the economic downtown on any future production, Laraki argues, “Culture, and thus film production, is always the first victim of any financial crisis.” Nevertheless, Laraki stresses that his country has plenty to offer.
“Morocco has become a favourite location for many Hollywood and European filmmakers, while developing its own significant film offerings,” he concludes. “No financial crisis can change that.”
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