A special screening of two classic short films by film maker and author Ahmed Bouanani, accompanied by a film by Touda Bouanani about her father. The films will be introduced by Marie Pierre-Bouthier.

Memory 14 (1971) was created by Ahmed Bouanani at a time when he was confined to editing, prohibited from filming because of political censorship. Some historical events such as the Rif War were censored, to circumvent this censorship, Bouanani went to film men and women of the Rif. The film uses archive footage based on cinematographic archives made during the French colonial period to present a portrait of Morocco. Memory 14 was cut/censored from 108 minutes to its final length of 24 minutes.

In 6 and 12 (1968) Bouanani turns his camera on the light and city of Casablanca between the hours of six and twelve. Initially entitled ‘The Awakening’ the film proposes to tell the story of Casablanca in 1968 through image and sound. (18 minutes)

The screening of these two films is followed by Fragments of Memory(2014). This short film by artist Touda Bouanani traces her father’s life as a writer, poet, artist and filmmaker. Through her family archives and unpublished manuscripts, she paints a portrait of her family and her father’s work. (20 minutes)

Ahmed Bouanani (1938 – 2011) was a filmmaker, poet and author, active at the time of the Casablanca Art School. A crucial figure in Moroccan cinema, Bouanani is highly regarded for his stunning short films of urban life from the 1960s. His feature ‘Mirage’ is regarded as a milestone in Arab cinema. His writing was published in Souffles, the cultural journal which was founded by author Abdellatif Lâabi (whose cover was designed by Mohamed Melehi) he published collections of poems and a novel.

Touda Boanani (b.1963) is a visual artist and multidisciplinary videographer, memory and memories are at the heart of her work and research. She made Fragments of Memory (2014) a short film portrait of her father and family using her own archives.

Marie Pierre-Bouthier is a former student of the Ecole Normale Supérieure of Paris and holds a PhD in History of Cinema. Her research is dedicated to resistance documentary cinema in Morocco, and particularly to Ahmed Bouanani. She is also a volunteer film-curator for the festival “Maghreb des Films”.

Please note, seats for this event are limited and are allocated on a first come first served basis.