Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A message for change to Barack Hussein Obama.



My name is Allal el Alaoui .I am a blogger and cinema-goer.My dream is to see the world united and everybody smiles again. I have written a project with the help of my colleagues and friends.

My initiative tackles a noble goal that gathers two gigantic dreaming companies, Hollywood and Bollywood, into a glittering and yet artistic night where the world enjoys a wonderful meeting between stars and super-stars, actors and actresses in order to serve global peace without referring to any geographical space nor any ethnic, religious and political status, but instead this show or event relies on the mutual respect between people and dialog of cultures.

Now, we have Barak Hussein Obama, a dynamic president who is very keen, in my opinion to change the world .May be the east and the west could be joined at least into one night when we get fervent smiles that we have lost recently. So, if you could help me to make this event come true, please do not hesitate to do so even by telling your friend, institution, or parents.







Moroccan native allal-cinemagoer, whose blog mostly discusses cinema, has a message about the arts for the candidates:
...because of the dangerous change that our world is going through especially America's values and its famous civil rights are now at stake and most important we are going to have a new president who might again intensify war around the world, I just want to say that whoever win the battle to Washington Dc to become the president of The U S A ,Hollywood should reconsider its policy [and] produce movies of great talent based on dialog , love and especially altogetherness, rather on discrimination, xenophobia, hate of Arabs etc.. .

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Talking digital age in Rabat




In 2006, at the Renaissance café in Rabat which is a closed cinema theatre now, I and Razak ,an engaged writer,Mustapha Hairane,journalist and photographer ;El Khammar Essafi; talked about our digital age in relation to movies and electronic writings called Blogosphere. We have talked about successful digital films like Abbas Kiarostami‘sTen, and Michael Mann’s Collateral .we have also mentioned mediocre and good movies produced by CCM or SNRT because these governmental institutions have now sophisticated digital tools to produce movies such as Avid softwares, Kinescoping machines, and recent HD Cameras.



We mentioned the inspiration of the red city Marrakech to some renowned creators and the fact that Marrakech was once visited by Bill Gates, this mysterious city inspires this genius engineer by its beautiful sights and icy mountains. Bill Gates,therefore ,is called proudly in Morocco Al Haj Belghit;a close name to a honorable intelligence domestically ,may be,during his touristic visit to this city, he was inspired so much that he invented intelligent tools for the personal computer revolutions .This big event breaths softly into the souls of intellectuals, writers because it succeeds to further governments from intervening the businesses of simple people besides it imposes its heavy weight of secretive surveillance that is usually practiced by non-democratic states such as our country .This Big Brother policy is unfortunately used in the states itself. Here, I wonder why can not Arab Intelligentsia help to spread its culture either via media ads or hacking ? I know that Arab Encyclopedia is now on the market, but many people can not have it.



It is obvious that the Internet becomes a Greek agora instead of souk de Okad in the Arab world namely in my country. Too many web sites and blogs are created and taste of getting more informed is undefinable.Indeed this powerful instrument becomes relevant to many such as exilers, journalists, writers and freedom of information seekers. Maroc Telecom,a powerful media source at home, asks too much money to provide help for users or web new comers. I presume Bill Gates will laugh on this deal because it exploits his tool for financial reasons. However, that time, Digital culture invades our behavior as much as our values, and modifies our relation to reality.” We were really amazed by the use of mobile cells, emails, PCs,, video games, YouTube and our fidel researcher “Google” is always answering our questions that we displace on its engine .In fact;Google was and is our cultural modern culture, although we sometimes are skeptic whether its information is true or false because of the infiltrating the American intelligence agencies .




Culture of constipated mentalities begin to be more narrowed by the explosion of information and cultural blockaders, linguistical agents and authorities in general become worried by this new age of free information .The west is still compromising to liberate it to the world, even though UN wanted to intervene to govern the internet but The United States of America and Europe refuse this thinking because apparently they are scared that authoritarian regimes take over .

I think it is time for the Arabs mainly ,Grand Maghreb to take actions which means that people have to get up and cry for their rights as once it is sung by The unforgettable Rasta man, Bob Marley. We are pleased to know that some Algerians cry out either from Algiers,Rome (Abdelkader Remoun) or from Paris in order to have a democratic state without being governed by mafia-like people. The Battle for democracy becomes a must for these countries named above, although its governments spread culture of fear and oppression.



In Morocco, We are happy to see journalists and bloggers supporting democratic associations and free pen writers like Mohammed Erraji,Chakib El Khayari, Hassan Barhoun and more others… It is obvious now USFP, the Social Union of popular forces, have lost that honorable position among its people of pretending to be democratic after its long faked “battle” for democracy. Instead this political party of the third world activist Ben Barka has sent its people to interior exiles and indifferences. .Therefore, we will not be surprised if this party is totally abandoned by the people that badly scorn this political party due to its unconvincing programs, and its very old fashioned leadership. Even now its charismatic leader, Ben Barka is getting less unfortunately loved because of that political system called "out of order policy " that USFP has shown during its alternance prior to the death of king Hassan the second.







In Grand Maghreb, freedom of speech is not yet happened and many fans just like journalists and writers would love to see this beautiful thing becoming real even though some countries like France and U S A is not giving any help nor publishing truthful reports of what is really going on. Thanks to the net which becomes wildly utilized,blogs and sites will be multiplied just to protest against coercion of Maghreb governments.




There must come a time when we sit down and talk otherwise the gap between the state and people becomes wilder and who knows when the reunion might be again. On this occasion ;we feel deeply sorry for that Tunisian Zouhair Yahyaoui who will always be remembered among Tunisian and Maghreb activists as someone who had sacrificed his life for the struggle for freedom of speech.



I understand that young people born after the nineties of the last century; have greater advantages to speak computer languages rather than us; take for example my little baby Rania who keeps calling me Mama and Papa to her mother at the age 7 months . Now being 13 months, incidently, she has mixed all the two names and calls me O Bapa,is if Rania has been influenced by the headaches of Obama elections,by the way Obama answers emails which is a thing that even one little responsible in Morocco would not be pleased to do if he already knows how to run computer systems.


Phonetics instead has nothing to do with HTM, CSS or IPaper languages that the net is basically relied on now.Languistics are different in tones and intonations than the computer ones .Who knows one day we see computers speak their own language derived of course from mother language of today’s and consequently they put men into slavery just like the story of Planet of the Apes. Computers might then give orders to cyborgs to destroy humanity from earth.Then,the game of digital age will be over.

Allal El Alaoui

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Zineb Ennajem

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13294758/Zineb-Ennajem

Zineb Ennajem

El Oualid Mezouare.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13294714/oualid-mezouaroualid mezouar

Al-Ghazali,a light of intelligence seen by Ovidio Salazar.


Al-Ghazali, the Alchemist of Happiness is a beautiful film documentary directed by Ovidio Salazar. It is true we live in a confused age where almost humanity can not know how to distinguish between good and evil .Yet, movies like Al-Ghazali erases some questions of our intellectual age by refreshing our memory that there were in the past some thinkers who have lived through hardships and difficulties just to again peace in searching Allah (God).


In fact, this film already mixed up with academic interviews from Iran, England and America points out how blissful is the truthfulness of Allah and that the Almighty can be reached by spiritual practices just like Al-Ghazali did in his time. Man is born with AL Fitra (instinct) to go down to the profoundest abyss in order to find himself and to come back with an idea to remember that there is only one truth which is Allah, our Almighty who is worth worshipping.

Ovidio Salazar’s cinematic techniques are much convincing as far talking about documentary film making especially he has not hesitated to go to Tus, Khorasan, Iran in order to be more realistic where Al-Ghazali is buried .He tells Al-Ghazali’ story through narration and fabricated dramatic scenes. The search of truth seems continuous by Al-Ghazali whose taste of knowledge is so vast that he leaves his family, his Khalif,( supreme authority in Baghdad )his properties and his country in order to find Allah.

Nowadays, apart from intelligent movies that we watch from time to time either in festivals or in hacked DVDs ,Hollywood is still bombarding us with worthless artificial and violent movies that we are manifestedly fed up with especially now that the west is still eager to continue his continuous and ferocious fight against Islam via means of image destructions like cinema .This west itself has unfortunately denied that Islam has once breathed gently into the soul of Europe in order to be civilized (see Averroes,Ibn Sina Ibn Arabi …) .

With this genre of movies ,we hope that the world shifts 180 degrees to Al-Agl ( reason ), beauty and intellect rather than hate and indifference and the discourse that the west controls itself and anything foreign to its atmosphere is barbarian and savage, reminds us in fact of its uncontrollable launching bomb on Hiroshima and its unpitiful torturing of innocent souls in Guantanamo Bay.I think I myself have not controlled myself because of the 21 first century burden and atrocities that I still have to find relevant in the teaching of my master Al-Ghazali .Yet peaceful mind is quite reachable as long as there are non-arrogant people who reject dictatorship in their “Nitham-Al Hokm” ( Way of Governing ) and thanks to Allah , it seems that there are other people who have courage to produce via cinema other people ‘s beautiful lives even if they are seemingly“enemies” .


Allal El Alaoui

Saturday, March 07, 2009

To Casanegra or not to Casanegra.


Unfortunately because very few cinema-theatres are still closed, I have decided to watch Casanegra on DVD at home but not on silver screen cinema theatre which is a thing that I have felt sorry for .Sorry Nour-Edine.I assured you I have not hacked your movie, but somebody has given it to me raw and unfinished ‘ non-étalonné” to watch it .Apparently, your film has moved me a lot because it is one hundred percent cinematic (see Moroccan and Norway money ) this co –production has made things easier very seldom for a creator to work and that also explains why your films has reached a nice level in cinematography where you have used wild angle a lot as if to reveal your intimate love to this cosmopolitan and yet giant city called Casablanca .This movie has made brilliant box office in Casablanca itself which is quite normal through good performances of new actors such as Adil and Karim and let alone Benbrahim whose powerful presence is remarquable .But anyway, i have good news for you. I think Casanegra is an intelligent film well directed by your vivid imagination and your skillful hands.



As I have said before, although I am not a Casablanca man, I feel much moved by some beautiful dark scenes. This reminds me of German cinema, very expressive and pictures are much more in silhouette. As a film-goer I know what you wanted to say because you have started your movie all in black as if you want to tell us that this is a dark city and yet it is beautiful. I like also your characters starting with our beloved Benbrahim and of course Adil and Karim, the two boys who have been well directed by yourself.



The story is about two mates who share friendship and hardship altogether. Karim recruits children to sell cigarettes and dreams to be respected within his circle. Adil wants to go to Europe in order to find paradise and he would do anything to find a visa and go to Malmo in Suede.



I also know one thing is that Moroccan viewers would hate themselves because of the vulgarity of your style language that you have well used in your sequences of your movie .But, I think I consider your style as avant-gardist because what we have seen nearly thirty or forty years in Moroccan cinemas through out realistic European and American cinema is the same use of slung language of the street .Moroccan cinema-goers will get used to this language step by step.That is a something that I assure you to be happening very soon .So let’s go to Casanegra and see ourselves through this beautiful story written by Nour-Eddine lkhmari.

Allal El Alaoui



WRITTER/ DIRECTOR: Nour-Eddine Lakhmari (Maroc - Norway)
CINEMATOGRAPHER : Luca Coassin (AIC)
PRODUCERS : Ali Kettani / Dino Sebti _ SIGMA
FEATURE FILM / SOCIAL DRAMA
35 mm / scope color / 126 minutes
LANGUAGE : Moroccan
CO-PRODUCTEURS : Aziz Nadifi / SOREAD 2M
MUSIC : Richard Horowitz
EDITING: Sarah Mouta
ART DIRECTION: Badria Soud Elhassani