The Moroccan film “Questions of Oral Memory”... The aesthetics and reality of Amazigh cinema
Today, it is difficult for creativity to remain apart from the various social, political, cultural, artistic, and other transformations that are taking place locally, Arably, and internationally. The creative process is a process of interaction, communication and development, and its visions are formed only through this. The current Amazigh film should not lag behind all these transformations. Whether at the level of issues and contents, or at the level of artistic and aesthetic construction, it should be kept pace with, while recalling and drawing inspiration from the richness and depth of Amazigh culture with all its aspects and interactions. The importance of this is the publication of the book “The Amazigh Film: Questions of Oral Memory.” A publication of the Moroccan Association for Research and Cultural Exchange - Ouarzazate Branch. It is a collective book, which includes the works of the symposium of the sixth session of the National Amazigh Film Festival in Ouarzazate, December 1014 session, which was entitled: Valuing oral memory through Amazigh film.
This course was an opportunity to approach the Amazigh film experience on two levels: the first is to focus on distinctive cinematic experiences, such as the film “Goodbye Carmen” by director Mohamed Amin Benamraoui, and the film “Agrabo” by director Ahmed Baydou, in addition to short film experiences of a distinguished artistic level, such as “And me?” “Forbidden Fruit” by director Noura Azroual, and “Portrait” by director Mourad Khallou. The second level is the critical approach to the Amazigh film experience, based on the slogan of the course, “Valuing Oral Memory Through the Amazigh Film,” which witnessed the participation of a number of critics and interested parties.
The symposium achieved distinction in the readings presented, which prompted thinking about issuing a book dealing with the symposium’s work, which included the following interventions:
“Seeing the Amazigh component in Moroccan cinema” by Hamid Atbato, “Valuing oral memory through the Amazigh film” by Hassan Malwani. “The Amazigh Film: Questions and Illumination” by Rajab Mashishi, “The Amazigh Film and the Worlds of Oral Memory” by Mohamed Salou. In addition to enriching the content materials with other readings centered on the Amazigh film experience, namely: “Images of the Amazigh Heritage in Moroccan Cinema” by Mohamed Zeroual. “The Aesthetics of the Amazigh Short Film” by Mustafa Afqir, “The Moroccan Amazigh Video Film: Imperatives of Creative Take-off” Al-Hussein Manzoul. The book also included an interview with the Moroccan director and late pioneer of Amazigh cinema, Mohamed Merniche, conducted by Hamid Atbatu.
Finally, we hope that this experience will be one of the fruits of the National Amazigh Film Festival in Ouarzazate, and a qualitative addition to the critical and analytical studies of the Moroccan Amazigh film in all its manifestations and dimensions.
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