Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda is the largest city in Morocco. Located on the Atlantic coast of the Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a population of about 3.71 million in the urban area, and over 4.27 million in the Greater Casablanca, making it the most populous city in the Maghreb region, and the eighth-largest in the Arab world. Casablanca is considered the economic and business center of Morocco, although the national political capital is Rabat. The leading Moroccan companies and many international corporations doing business in the country have their headquarters and main industrial facilities in Casablanca. Recent industrial statistics show Casablanca holds its recorded position as the primary industrial zone of the nation. Casablanca is Morocco's chief port, with the Port of Casablanca being one of the largest artificial ports in the world, and the second largest port in North Africa, after Tanger-Med. Casablanca also hosts the primary naval base for the Royal Moroccan Navy.
Werner Herzog is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unique talents in obscure fields, or individuals in conflict with nature. He is known for his unique filmmaking process, such as disregarding storyboards, emphasizing improvisation, and placing the cast and crew into similar situations as characters in his films.
John David Landis is an American comedy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed, such as The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Trading Places (1983), Three Amigos (1986), Coming to America (1988) and Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), and for directing Michael Jackson's music videos for "Thriller" (1983) and "Black or White" (1991).
Gnawa music is a body of Moroccan and West African Islamic religious songs and rhythms. Its well-preserved heritage combines ritual poetry with traditional music and dancing. The music is performed at lila, communal nights of celebration dedicated to prayer and healing guided by the Gnawa maalem, or master musician, and their group of musicians and dancers. Though many of the influences that formed this music can be traced to West African kingdoms, its traditional practice is concentrated in Morocco. Gnawa music has spread to many other countries in Africa and Europe, such as France.
Nabil Ayouch is a Franco-Moroccan television and film director, producer, and writer. His films have screened at international film festivals including the Cannes Film Festival and Montreal World Film Festival.
Gad Elmaleh is a Moroccan-Canadian stand-up comedian and actor who achieved fame in France, Morocco and the United States. He is best known in the French-speaking world and more recently in the United States.
Ahmed Soultan is a Moroccan singer artist, considered one of the leaders of the "Nayda".
Sami Mermer is a Turkish Canadian documentary filmmaker of Kurdish descent.
The 27th annual Sundance Film Festival took place from January 20, 2011 until January 30, 2011 in Park City, Utah, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah.
Bully is a 2011 American documentary drama film directed and co-produced by Lee Hirsch and co-produced and written by Cynthia Lowen along with producers Cindy Waitt and Sarah Foudy. The film follows the lives of five students who face bullying on a daily basis in U.S. schools and premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. It was also screened at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and the LA Film Festival.
Bombay Beach is a 2011 documentary film directed and produced by Israeli filmmaker Alma Har'el. The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit "Truer than Fiction" Award, won "Best Feature Documentary" at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, and has been taught in several universities including Duke University and Harvard’s Sensory Ethnography Lab and Film Center as a genre redefining work. Taking place in the Salton Sea, a rusting relic of a failed 1950s development boom, Bombay Beach is a dreamlike poem that sets three personal stories to a stylized melding of observational documentary and choreographed dance to music specially composed for the film by Zach Condon of the band Beirut, and songs by Bob Dylan.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a 2011 Japanese-language American documentary film directed by David Gelb. The film follows Jiro Ono, an 85-year-old sushi master and owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro, previously a Michelin three-star restaurant. Sukiyabashi Jiro is a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant located in a Tokyo subway station. As of 2014, Jiro Ono serves a tasting menu of roughly 20 courses, for a minimum of ¥30,000 (US$270).
Horses of God is 2012 Moroccan drama film about the 2003 Casablanca bombings. It was directed by Nabil Ayouch, and based on the novel The Stars of Sidi Moumen by Moroccan writer Mahi Binebine. The film won several awards, and was Morocco's submission for the 85th Academy Awards.
Ahmed Boulane is a Moroccan film director, producer and screenplay writer. Known as l'enfant terrible du cinéma marocain for his antics with journalists and his fellow filmmakers, he is considered to be one of the most talented directors in Morocco.
Dying to do Letterman is a 2011 documentary film, directed by Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina, and produced under their Joke Productions banner. The documentary follows the journey of Steve Mazan, a stand up comedian with the lifelong dream of performing a comedy routine on the Late Show with David Letterman.
Ayoub El Kaabi is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Hatayspor and the Morocco national team. He started his professional career playing for Racing de Casablanca.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. An alumnus of the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, he started getting attention in his home country with the graduate film Passion (2008).
Hind Bensari, is a Moroccan filmmaker. She is well known as the director that made critically acclaimed documentary films: 475: Break the Silence and We Could Be Heroes.
Mohcine Besri is a Moroccan actor, writer, Producer and director.
Aziz Tazi is a Moroccan film writer, director and producer featured in Forbes Africa's 30 Under 30. Tazi made his directorial debut with the feature film Night Walk. The crime drama was acquired by Lionsgate and is the first Moroccan film in history to get Hollywood distribution.
