Ali Essafi zu Gast im Arsenal

20.04.2016 – 21.04.2016 / 20:00 – 22:00
With Ali Essafi

Ali Essafi (*1963 in Fez) is a precise yet empathetic chronicler of his country, his documentaries a form of memory politics. They dedicate themselves to people on the edges of society and to Morocco’s suppressed (cultural)historic events, in order to keep the memory of them alive in present consciousness. Ali Essafi’s films have won several awards and were shown in MoMa of New York, among other places. Archive material is often the basis of his work. In a country where public access to archives is virtually nonexistent, Ali Essafi’s achievements, both as an artist and a culture historian are not to be underrated. Using a range of subjects, Ali Essafi investigates that which Marocco sublimates from its past and present: in ‘Ouarzazate Movie’ (2001) Ali Essafi directs his camera towards the Moroccan village of the same name, in which many Hollywood blockbusters such as ‘Gladiator’ and also ‘Asterix and Obelix’ were filmed. From casting to the dressing room, the film follows Morrocan extras, who will never see the finished film. In a peculiar way, the film exposes the contrasts between on-screen magic and the reality during filming. In ‘Shikhates Blues’ (first prize at the Festival de Cinéma Sud, 2004) Ali Essafi focusses on three traditional singers with roots in the Berber People. They are revered for their voices yet belong to the most marginalized group in Moroccan society, as they use their freedom to sing about the discrimination of women. Employing archive material and quotes from a militarist living underground, ‘Wanted!’ (2011) depicts Morocco in the 70s, a dark time silenced from the official history books.

In cooperation with Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst e.V.

Kino Arsenal, Potsdamer Straße 2, 10785 Berlin

Entrance: € 7,50 / 5,–

20.04., 8pm:
»Ouarzazate Movie«, Ali Essafi, Marokko / Frankreich, 2001, Beta SP, OmE, 57 min.
»Wanted!«, Ali Essafi, Marokko / Vereinigte Arabische Emirate, 2011, Beta SP, OmE, 29 min.

21.04.,8.30pm:
»Sheikhates Blues«, Ali Essafi, Marokko, 2004, Beta SP, OmE, 55 min.