Before the Dying of the Light
by Ali Essafi
30 sept. at 2pm
8 oct. at 4pm
Cinéma Le Mondial
Written & Directed by Ali Essafi
Archives Research Ali Essafi
Edited by Chaghig Arzoumanian
SFX & Credits Design Mohamed Slaoui El Andaloussi
Sound Design Kinda Hassan
Mix Jean-Marc Schick « L’Atelier sonore »
Produced by Ali Essafi
Production Cinemaat Productions
Co-Production 2M TV
Laterit Productions
Les films du Passage
With the participation of : ARTE TV (La Lucarne)
Video
This collage of posters, magazine covers, archive footage, jazz music takes you back to the art scene of 1970s Morocco, viewed from the perspective of the artists and actors themselves. Many of them were to end up in prison or disappear without a trace.
The story revolves around a Moroccan independent film from 1974, About Some Meaningless Events by Mostafa Derkaoui, where a group of young filmmakers explored the role the new Moroccan cinema should play in society.
After just a single public screening, however, About Some Meaningless Events was censored by the government. But the negatives of this long-lost film were rediscovered in Spain and have recently been restored.
Dedicated to the victims of censorship and oppression, Before the Dying of the Light evokes a time of excitement about the future, before it was extinguished by the repressive years under King Hassan II. Now that flame is briefly rekindled as these images are shown once again.