Maroc en musique – three short films by Izza Génini

Morocco’s very rich musical tradition is the subject of a series of short documentaries by the producer and director Izza Génini. With a depth of knowledge and great beauty, Izza Génini tells us of the wide variety of musical, folkloric and religious roots of the rhythms, chants, instruments, dances, rituals and recitations.

Rythmes de Marrakech
During the Achoura Festival, the medina of Marrakesh is aquiver with the rhythms and sounds of the musicians of each part of the city. Drums, trumpets, violins and above all the voices of the residents transform the streets and squares into magical places.

Louanges
The eight-day pilgrimage to Moulay Idriss, one of the most sacred sites in the country, becomes a trance-like musical experience.

Aïta
An unusual all-female band is the focus of this film. The cheikat, five ‘troubadour-women’, swing their long hair in circles during their performances and cry out aïta – cries which become a song, an incantation and a triumph over personal limits.

Izza Génini

Izza Génini has been born in Casablanca in 1942. She moved to France in 1960 and studied Letters and Foreign Languages at the Sorbonne and at the Oriental Language School. From 1966 to 1970 she worked for the Tours and Annecy Festivals. From 1970 to 1986 she was manager of the Club 70, a private film theatre. Since 1973, she is in charge of Ohra/SOGEAV, a company aimed at producing, promoting and distributing feature films in Africa and worldwide, for example Trances, Bob Marley Exodus.