We met the director of the festival, Dr. “Habib Nasseri”, who carries the concerns of Arab documentary cinema and works to develop it in order to be at the level of the international “Leipzig” festival.. The opportunity is available to Dr. Nasseri, Sima, who is Moroccan. Maghreb film festivals enjoy the interest of the royal state and its king because of his awareness of the necessity of culture. cinematic.
How did the idea of a documentary festival begin?
The idea of the festival began after we noticed, as intellectuals or as researchers in the field of narrative cinema, that all our Moroccan festivals are dedicated to narrative cinema, and there is no room for the documentary film, which is the origin of cinema. Profit, including people’s feelings.
From this, and with the company of a dear friend, Mr. Hassan Mujtahid, and other friends, we tried to draw attention to this cinematic genre and its many functions, especially in our Arab societies that still have not come to terms with the image in general and with its visual memory in particular. The beginning was not easy, but today the festival has taken its natural position in the map of Moroccan festivals and achieved many visual and cultural gains as a whole.
Why was the city of Khouribga chosen as the venue for the launch of the festival?
The choice of Khouribga is the result of our relationship with this city, which is known for its many cultural activities, especially the presence of the oldest Moroccan cinema club in it. And some of the cultural infrastructure built by the honorable society of phosphates, as well as the urban community without forgetting the African Film Festival in the same city and some colleges…etc. It is a city with a population of nearly two hundred thousand. Today, the festival contributed to introducing the city culturally.
Who is the owner of the idea of the festival?
In fact, with all sincerity, I proposed it to friend Hassan Mujtahid, and a delegation interacted with it well, so that the circle expanded later to include other friends who, in turn, left their mark on the organization since the first session. And now the festival has become the property of the city and the ownership of the homeland and all lovers of the language of documentaries and beauty.
