Rabat -

Moroccan director Kamal Kamal is embarking on a new cinematic experience through "Noubat Al-Ashaq", a historical film that takes the audience back to the end of the 15th and early 16th centuries.

A group of Moroccan stars, including Rabie El Kati, Idriss El Rokh, Sana El Alaoui, Said Bey, Abdelhak Belmjahid and others, participate in this film - the scenes of which were filmed in the El Badi Palace in Marrakesh before the rest of the scenes were filmed in the city of Azemmour.

It sheds light on Moroccan society during the Wattasid era through the story of the young Hammad - played by the actor Rabih Kati - accused of involvement in the murder of his friend.

Hammad was a traditional maker fond of Andalusian music, leading a dreamy and calm life before being isolated from his surroundings and away from his friend in order to make a marine astrolabe at the request of a Portuguese adventurer.

However, the astrolabe disappeared and his friend was killed, and Hammad was accused of the murder, which made him lose his psychological balance and enter the "maristan" in Fez, a mental and psychological hospital, to receive music therapy classes.

The film bears the name "Noubat Al-Ashaq", one of the 11 Andalusian "Nours" that are still preserved and performed by Andalusian bands in the Maghreb. Andalusian music was one of the ways in which people with mental and mental illnesses were treated in hospitals.

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artistic celebration

The artists participating in this cinematic work celebrated the start of filming the film, and published their photos on the filming site, at a time when the Moroccan media were interested in presenting the film, introducing its story and following up on the conditions of its filming.

Actor Rabie El Kati said in a post on "Instagram", which I attached with his picture from the filming site, "I present to you the character of Hammad Balghali, who I embody in the historical film Nouba Al-Ashaab, signed by the creator Kamal Kamal, produced by Abdel Majid Al-Balouti and the Moroccan Film Center, scripted by Moncef Kadri, Finally, Moroccan cinema responds to our ancient Moroccan history, a pleasant and exciting journey in our glorious Moroccan Andalusian history, an endless pleasure that we promise you my dears.

Actor Said Bey published his picture from one of the scenes, commenting on it, "The beginning of a new adventure, our Moroccan history is very rich in its culture."

Moroccan actor Idriss El Rokh embodies the character of Al-Zanati, who is the Minister of Security or the Minister of the Interior in the Wattasyin State.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net about his role, he says, "Al-Zanati supervises the investigations into the case of Qassem's murder and the disappearance of the astrolabe, and seeks to achieve justice and reach the truth with all his efforts and capabilities."

Rokh explained that Morocco's history contains raw materials that can be used in cinematic films, stressing that "Moroccan creators are able to transform this history into an image that forms a bridge of communication between our history and present and our future."

Driss El Roukh (right) and Rabie El Kati during the filming of "Noubat Al-Ashaq" (Moroccan Press)

Technology, art and money

With the exception of some of the few cinematic works that dealt with major historical issues such as the Rif War, the Battle of the Three Kings and historical figures, the Moroccan cinematic treasury lacks this type of films that draw from history their artistic material.

Moroccan cinema interacts mainly with current social issues, despite some attempts to address Moroccan society at a stage called the years of lead or the colonial period.

Film critic Hammadi Kerome believes that historical cinematic films, such as those produced by Hollywood or produced in the Soviet Union, require very large productions, which is what cinema lacks in the Arab world in general, and in Morocco in particular.

In Kirum's view, the historical film is not about old clothes, conversations in Classical Arabic, and filming of interior scenes, but rather "an action movie that needs technology, art and money, which are not currently available."

Because of the meager budget allocated to the production of cinematic films in Morocco, creators do not tend to work on films whose stories are drawn from history.

Kirum points out some important and limited attempts to produce historical films, which in his view are first steps to break into these worlds, including the works of Moroccan director Souhil Benbarka in a Moroccan and foreign production.

It is related to the movie "From Sand and Fire.. The Impossible Dream" 2019, a Moroccan-Italian production in which a selection of Moroccan, Spanish and Italian actors participated, and the movie "The Three Kings and the Drums of Fire" 1990, a Moroccan-Spanish production.

Kirum indicated that the Moroccan Film Center recently granted support to produce a film about the character of Abdel Karim El Khattabi, expecting that this experience will encounter difficulties.

Historical Films Support Fund

For director and actor Idriss El Rokh, historical and epic films require big budgets, setting, clothing, equipment, and time to set up and shoot.

He adds, "This type of films needs a proper production work, in a way that allows them to be strong and huge works, and this requires special funds."

Therefore, he called for thinking about allocating regional funds to support film productions in general, and to support historical film productions in particular.

This matter, in his opinion, "will give an impetus to cinematic creativity on the one hand, and will contribute to the promotion and marketing of Morocco's history and introduce its epics on the other hand."