Settat cinemas doomed to vanish.

According to an inerview made by Maghrebarts.ma , an online Moroccan journal, Settat could have wondered its citizens by a new look of Amateurs cinema.However, i was astonished to see that Settat was now a quite disabondoned littel town, may be due to the death of its Godfather named Dris Basri.


"Comme le défini le concept même du FNFAS, c'est un espace qui comble un vide qui à duré assez longtemps. Un participant l'a si bien exprimé en disant: "avant le FNFAS, nous étions des SDF, désormais nous avons un abri." C'est un espace complémentaire de la scène audiovisuelle marocaine. C'est un espace qui a une forte crédibilité conceptuelle et organisationnelle. Il y a cependant deux choses qui nous font défaut par rapport aux autres festivals, surtout ceux qui s'organisent simultanément avec le notre: la présence d'artistes que nous voulons voir parmi nous et la couverture médiatique. Changer la date du FNFAS est impossible pour nous en ce moment.
Par ailleurs, nous espérons que d'autres festivals nationaux ouvrent une section parallèle, hors compétition, aux meilleurs films récompensés par le FNFAS."

links :http://www.maghrebarts.ma/cinenews/080413.html

Freedom to Erraji Mohammed.BLOGGER WHO CRITICISED KING FREED.

. MOROCCO: BLOGGER WHO CRITICISED KING FREED

On 18 September, a Moroccan appeals court overturned a two-year jail
sentence given to a local blogger for criticising the King and the royal
family, report the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

On 8 September, Mohammed Erraji was jailed and fined 5,000 dirhams (US$620)
for failing to respect the King. The trial reportedly lasted 10 minutes. He
was later released on bail pending the appeals court ruling.

Erraji had accused Morocco's monarchy of encouraging a culture of
dependency in an article for online newspaper Hespress.com. He argued that
the King's custom of granting favours, such as taxi licences to a lucky
few, encouraged people to rely on handouts. Read an English translation of
the article on the Global Voices Online website: http://tinyurl.com/5lo2ol

The presiding judge at the appeals court cited flaws in prosecuting the
case of the 29-year-old blogger, including the failure to summon him to
attend trial 15 days before he actually appeared in court and his unlawful
detention ahead of the trial.

"I am very happy with today's court ruling, which came after a summary and
unfair ruling," Erraji told CPJ on the day of his release. "But at the same
time, my happiness is mixed with feelings of sadness, because it never
occurred to me that one day I would be arbitrarily accused of showing
disrespect toward the King, which is a grave accusation."

A source close to Erraji said, "I cannot overstate the importance of the
support by organisations like IFEX and International PEN. I would like to
thank them for unconditionally standing by their principles, and would like
to state that their moral authority is an inspiration to all of us."

Visit these links:
- ANHRI: http://www.anhri.net/en/reports/2008/pr0920-2.shtml

- CPJ: http://tinyurl.com/3pnyxl

- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=28603

- Reuters: http://tinyurl.com/46hpf6

- "IFEX Communiqué" on Erraji's arrest and sentence:

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/96917/

Moroccans blog Intifada for Mohammed Erraji.

This is an unfair sentense done to an innocent

انـا حريَّتي... فإن سـرقوها
تسقطِ الأرضُ كلُّها والسماءُ
ما احترفتُ النِّفاقَ يوماً وكـلامـي
مـا اشتـراهُ الملـوكُ والأمراءُ
نــزار قــبــانــي


links :

www.hespress.com
http://www.helperraji.com/
www.soft-best.com

International free writers support Mohammed Erraj

اسجل تضامني التام مع المدون المغربي محمد الراجي





An innocent person suffers in prison feelings of isolation, loneliness, and loss. The knowledge that you defended me against unjust accusations against me brought me joy and strengthened my will to come to terms with the harsh conditions of my imprisonment.
Czech writer, Eva Kanturkova 1982


links :

www.anhri.net
http://www.internationalpen.org
http://www.rsf.org/

IFEX stands by Mohammed Erraji for freedom of speech

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

2. MOROCCO: BLOGGER JAILED FOR TWO YEARS FOR CRITICISING KING

A Moroccan blogger who wrote an article criticising the King was sentenced
to two years in jail after a startling short trial, report the Arabic
Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), International PEN's Writers
in Prison Committee (WiPC) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

On 8 September, the court of Agadir in southern Morocco condemned Mohammed
Erraji to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 Moroccan dirhams
(US$620) for "failure to uphold the respect due to the King". His trial
reportedly lasted 10 minutes. According to WiPC, Erraji is in poor health.

Erraji was arrested on 4 September following the publication on the online
news site Hespress.com of an article accusing Morocco's monarchy of
encouraging a culture of dependency. He argued that the King's custom of
granting favours, such as taxi licences to a lucky few, encouraged people
to rely on handouts. Read an English translation of the article on the
Global Voices Online website: http://tinyurl.com/5lo2ol

"Erraji was given a summary trial for which he had no time to find a lawyer
and was unable to defend himself," says RSF. "The Moroccan blogosphere is
known for being dynamic, so this is big step backwards for the kingdom."

Erraji is the first Moroccan blogger to be prosecuted and convicted for an
article posted online. He is Hespress.com's Agadir correspondent and writes
regularly for the site. He also has his own blog published under his real
name, "The World of Mohammed Erraji", that was started in March 2007 and
deals mainly with political and social issues.

A website and petition have been setup in solidarity with the blogger at:
http://www.helperraji.com as well as a Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30771925854

In a separate case, newspaper editor Ahmed Reda Benchemsi, who is also
facing charges of disrespect for the King, had his one-year case adjourned
indefinitely last week.

Benchemsi told RSF, "The court was clearly trying to close the case without
having to reach a verdict ... I am supposed to see this decision as a
conciliatory gesture. But the judge can call me back to court whenever he
wants."

Visit these links:
- ANHRI: http://www.anhri.net/en/reports/2008/pr0908.shtml
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=28449
- RSF on Benchemsi: http://tinyurl.com/6cwvfy
- WiPC (email): Cathy.McCann (@) internationalpen.org.uk
- Help Erraji website: http://www.helperraji.com
- Erraji's blog: http://almassae.maktoobblog.com



links :

www.hespress.com
www.helperraji.com
http://almassae.maktoobblog.com/

Mohammed Miftah, ' photogenique' of Moroccan cinema

i happen to know Mohammed Miftah personally which is a very good honor for me,because this good actor has a marvellous charisma and character.He is not only a billiant popular commedian ,and of course i mean it using that fench word which means Miftah could play both commedy and tragedy plays ,but also Mohammed has a special presence either on the stage or in cinematic base camps trying to make mood to his colleagues and to technicians.
Mohammed Miftah is loved by Moroccans and syrians as well.He has participated in many Syrian drama sries and movies and is promised to get maried to one of the beautiful Syrian girl,but Miftah refused because he just loves what he is doing and he is good at it .
Allal El Alaoui

Filmography



Actor:
2000s
1990s
1980s
Et après? (2002)
Tresses (2000)
... aka Plaits (International: English title)


Bye-Bye Souirty (1998) .... Gangster
... aka Adieu forain (France) (Morocco: French title)
... aka Farewell Travelling Player (Europe: English title)
Amis d'hier, Les (1998)
Mektoub (1997)
Ombre du pharaon, L' (1996)
Articolo 2, L' (1994)
... aka Article 2
Vent de la Toussaint, Le (1991) .... Azouz
Batalla de los Tres Reyes, La (1990)
... aka Battaglia dei tre tamburi di fuoco, La (Italy)
... aka Bitva tryokh koroley (Soviet Union: Russian title)
... aka Drums of Fire (International: English title: informal title)
... aka Tambores de fuego (Spain: Castilian title)
... aka Tamburi di fuoco (Italy)
... aka The Battle of the Three Kings (International: English title: literal title)


Zift (1984)

links :

http://www.imdb.com

Moroccan blogger arrested for the sake of freedom of speech

Moroccan Blogger Arrested, Sentenced Immediately

This morning, it was reported by the electronic news site Hespress [ar] that blogger Mohammed Raji was arrested in his home in Agadir. An article that Raji had posted on Hespress [ar] is said to be the source of the conflict, though neither that fact nor Raji’s arrest have been confirmed outside of the blogosphere.

Morocco’s often-critized press law prohibits criticizing of the monarchy; In Raji’s article, which has been translated here by Amira al Hussaini, he claims that the King’s charity toward his people encourages them to remain helpless rather than work hard.

(Jillian York on Sep 08, 2008)

links :

www.hespress.com

Top Ten Arab film-directors chosen by allal-cinemagoer.

"The Arab cinemas are both the product and the expression of a long and unresolved struggle for the control of the image, for the power to define identity. That identity is clearly rooted in the crossroads of culture of the region, extending as it does between Europe and Black Africa, between the Atlantic and the Arabian Gulf, but also between the city and countryside and desert ... between a colonial past and a nominally independent present."
- film critic Mariam Rosen



This is my Top Ten Arab directors if you diasagree ,do not hesitate to email me for lucid suggestions

1 - Youssef Chahine.
2- Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina
3- Salah Abu Seif.
4- Chadi Abdessalam.
5- Farid Boughdir
6- Merzak Allouache
7- Ferhati Jilali
8- Nabil Maleh
9- Borhane Alaouie
10 -Merzak Allouache





This is the critics 'Top Ten Directors according to BFI, a film magazine

* 1. Orson Welles
* 2. Alfred Hitchcock
* 3. Jean-Luc Godard
* 4. Jean Renoir
* 5. Stanley Kubrick
* 6. Akira Kurosawa
* 7. Federico Fellini
* 8. John Ford
* 9. Sergei Eisenstein
* 10. Francis Ford Coppola
* 10. Yasujiro Ozu

links :

http://www.ashlandfilm.org

http://www.al-bab.com/

Abudhabi Godfathers invest on Hollywood and Bollywoood

AbuDhabiWood


You've heard of Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood - well here comes AbuDhabiWood. Well, that's not strictly true - as films funded by Abu Dhabi could be made all over the world.


The emirate on Wednesday set out plans to become one of the world’s largest film producers, with $1bn to invest in productions to be made in Hollywood, Bollywood and beyond. The funding, provided by Abu Dhabi’s government, will allow the Gulf state to back up to eight films a year over the next five years, Edward Borgerding, chief executive of the Abu Dhabi Media Company told the Financial Times. ADMC [formerly Emirates Media Inc - EMI] has set up a company, called imagenation abu dhabi, to manage its film investments. Confirming a report in the Financial Times, the new company on Wednesday said in a statement: “Our target output of eight films every year will make imagenation abu dhabi one of the world’s top producers of feature films and establish Abu Dhabi as a leading centre for content creation.”

And that will be the differentiator of Abu Dhabi - culture and content. Culture can not exist without content of some sort and so Abu Dhabi will become a media city, a media capital to house creativity in the Middle East, or at least in the Gulf states.

Abu Dhabi is HOT right now. Any which way you turn, Abu Dhabi is being mentioned. Abu Dhabi has finally reached the global stage, and this is just the beginning. But, buying publicity is one thing, the hard part is buying respectability







علال العلاوي:مغربي يريد أن يجمع نجوم هوليود وبوليود في المغرب


"الصورة مِلك مُشترك تتقاسمه البشرية كافة لتحقيق السعادة.ومبادرتي تهدف،في أسمى مراميها،إلى تقريب فعلي ملموس،بين صانعين كبيرين للحلم،وهما هوليود وبوليود،وذلك من خلال الجمع،لليلة واحدة ممتعة،ومفعمة بالأصوات الدافئة والأضواء المتوهجة،وفوق نفس البلاتوه،نجوما سينمائية من هوليود وبوليود.."
هكذا يختصر السيد علال علاوي مشروعه الطموح،وذلك ضمن تعريف لفكرة ثقافية سينمائية غير مسبوقة،وتتمثل في الجمع لأول مرة بعض نجوم الفن السابع الأمريكيين والهنود في مكان واحد،اختار صاحب الفكرة أن يكون المغرب،باعتبار أنه أحد البلدان التي يتمتع فيها هؤلاء النجوم بالمتابعة والاهتمام، ولديهم جمهور كبير،بالرغم من انتماء هؤلاء النجوم لحساسيتين سينمائيتين مُختلفتين،الأولى غربية والثانية شرقية،مع كل ما يُحيل عليه هذا التقسيم،من اختلافات حضارية،وثقافية واجتماعية وسياسية..إلخ،غير أن ما يجمعهم هو الفن السابع باعتبار أداته التقنية المشتركة،ألا وهي الصورة،ومضمونه المعنوي الواحد وهو الحلم.
الفكرة جديدة كل الجدة،حيث سيكون بعض نجوم هوليود الكبار جنبا إلى جنب مع نظراء لهم من بوليود،مثلا،وكما أنجز ذلك خُطاطته صاحب الفكرة،سيكون مثلا "براد بيت" إلى جانب "شاروخان" و"روبير دونيرو" إلى جانب "أميتاب باتشان" و "ميل جبسون" إلى جانب "جون أبراهام".....واللائحة طويلة ،مشوقة،وطريفة أيضا.
علال علاوي صحافي يشتغل بالشركة الوطنية للإذاعة والتلفزة،وهو خريج جامعة يوركشاير ببريطانيا،تخصص الأدب الإنجليزي،ولديه اهتمام وشغف بمتابعة التجارب السينمائية العالمية،عبر بلدان القارات الخمس،غير أنه يقف طويلا،بعين مُتذوقة وعقل مهتم ،بالتجربتين السينمائيتين الأكبر،من حيث الإنتاج الغزير،والانتشار العالمي،أمام هذين الصرحين الصناعيين الضخمين:هوليود وبوليود..ومن رحم هذا الاهتمام وُلدت لديه فكرة جمع التجربتين في زمن ومكان واحد،لأول مرة في تاريخهما.
علال علاوي مشغول هذه الأيام،كما لم يكن أبدا من قبل،بفكرته المبتكرة،التي يريدها،مُبادرة كبيرة،تنتقل أصداؤها،عبر العالم،خدمة لقيم الفن والتسامح والسلام.
ثمة أطراف حكومية وإعلامية مغربية،أبدت اهتمامها بالفكرة،والتزمت بتقديم الدعم المادي واللوجستيكي للمشروع الطموح،من بينها الشركة الوطنية للإذاعة والتلفزة،التي التزمت بتامين النقل المباشر لليلة الحفل الهوليودي البوليودي،كما أن كتابة الدولة المكلفة بالشباب والمركز السينمائي المغربي،بصدد دراسة جوانب الدعم المادي للفكرة،وبين هذا وذاك ينتقل السيد علال علاوي من هذه الجهة الرسمية إلى أخرى بدأب،لحشد العون والدعم،ليُؤكد،كما يقول،أن في المغرب واضعو أفكار مُبتكرة وليس واضعو القنابل.

حسن بوجا

Links :


http://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/