Martin Scorsese, special guest of the International Marrakech Film Festival

Academy Award winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese will conduct a cinema Master Class at the seventh annual International Marrakech Film Festival on Saturday, December 8.

The Master Class, hosted by the French film critic Michel Ciment, will be open to both film students and professionals. Mr. Scorsese was a 2005 honoree at the festival.

Mr. Scorsese has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with the Moroccan community.

“I’ve made two films here in Morocco,” he states, “and will always feel a sense of gratitude to the land, the people and the Royal family for making those films possible.” 

Mr. Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Kundun (1997) were shot in Morocco.

In addition to the Master Class, the Festival will host a screening of Ahmed El Maanouni’s Trances, the first film restored by Mr. Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation. The 1981 documentary follows the pioneering Moroccan roots music group, Nass El Ghiwane, and the social revolution their music brought about among disaffected North African youth.  Nass El Ghiwane emerged from the impoverished city limits of Casablanca, combining elements of traditional Moroccan music – Sufi chants, Berber rhythms and the mystical dances of the Gnawa – to create an energetic and unique sound.

Mr. Scorsese cites Trances as an inspiration for The Last Temptation of Christ. “The film is beautifully made by Ahmed Al Maanouni,” says Mr. Scorsese. “It’s been an obsession of mine since 1981.” 

Trances will be screened on Sunday, December 9, on the historic Place Jemma El Fna.

A concert by Nass El Ghiwan will precede the screening.

Trances was restored by the Cineteca di Bologna under the aegis of The World Cinema Foundation (WCF), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of neglected films from around the world.

Founded by Martin Scorsese, the foundation helps, supports, and encourages preservation efforts to save worldwide film heritage and ensure that these films are preserved, seen and shared.