MOROCCO / Making a film about the fervour generated by Barça and Real

The Moroccan director Abdelilah El Jaouhari is currently filming his second full-length feature, “Hala Madrid Visca Barça” in Marrakesh.

The film shows how the rivalry between the two Spanish football clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid can unleash passions even in the working class districts of Morocco. Filming started in early July and continued through August in Marrakesh and Tameslohte. Produced by Chaoui Production, “Hala Madrid Visca Barça” brings together some rising stars of Moroccan cinema such as Abdelhak Belmjahed (“Sex and the city 2”, “La moitié du ciel”) and Abdelilah Rachid (“The Horses of God”).

Abdelilah El Jaouhari is best known for his short film “De l’eau et du sang”, winning awards at FESPACO 2015, as well as for his documentary “Raja Bent El Mellah”, which tells the sad story of Najat Benssallem, an actress highly praised for her work in Jacques Doillon’s “Raja” in 2003, but who has now been rejected by society and is living unrecognised in poverty.

Abdelilah El Jaouhari’s first feature film, “Le cri de l’âme”, produced by Bouchta Vision, is due to be released in Morocco in October 2017. Following four stories, it is set in the 1970’s and 80’s (known in Morocco as the Years of Lead). The director is also preparing a documentary about the relationship between Moroccans and the cinema.

Sources: Aujourd’hui Le Maroc, Menara