With six films from Morocco in this year’s program, documentary festival IDFA put a spotlight on the North African country’s documentary film scene and its artists. For those wanting an introduction to the cinematic history of Morocco, an excellent place to start is “Before the Dying of the Light,” the latest film from cinema historian Ali Essafi, which receives its international premiere in Amsterdam this week.
Using archive footage, jazz music, graphic novels and paraphernalia from the 1970s, “Before the Dying of the Light” tells the story of the birth of the Moroccan film industry and the battles that indigenous filmmakers fought against censorship. The light died under the repressive leadership of King Hassan II, who turned against artists such as director Mostafa Derkaoui, who made the independent film “About Some Meaningless Events” (1974), and actress Leila Shenna, who played a femme fatale in the 1979 Bond film “Moonraker” before...
Using archive footage, jazz music, graphic novels and paraphernalia from the 1970s, “Before the Dying of the Light” tells the story of the birth of the Moroccan film industry and the battles that indigenous filmmakers fought against censorship. The light died under the repressive leadership of King Hassan II, who turned against artists such as director Mostafa Derkaoui, who made the independent film “About Some Meaningless Events” (1974), and actress Leila Shenna, who played a femme fatale in the 1979 Bond film “Moonraker” before...
- 11/27/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
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