“Transes”: The Resonance of Nass el Ghiwane in Morocco and Beyond

Ahmed El Maanouni is a writer, director, cinematographer, and producer whose work includes some of the most emblematic titles of Moroccan cinema. The first Moroccan director to have caught international attention, with films such as Alyam Alyam (1978) and Transes (1981), El Maanouni in his work takes a close, perceptive, and realistic look at everyday life in Moroccan culture and society (Les yeux du golfe; Les goumiers marocaines; Maroc-France, une histoire commune; Les cœurs brûlés; Conversation avec Driss Chraibi; Fadma).

El Maanouni will present and discuss excerpts from Transes in conversation with Alessandra Ciucci. This documentary film, whose interweaving of concert footage, interviews, and archival footage captures the excitement and the socio-political relevance of the music of the legendary Moroccan group Nass el Ghiwane, was selected by Martin Scorsese as the first film to be digitally restored and re-released as part of his World Cinema Project.