Zanka Contact | |
---|---|
Directed by | Ismael El Iraki |
Written by | Ismaël el Iraki |
Produced by | Saïd Hamich Benlarbi |
Starring | Khansa Batma, Ahmed Hammoud, Saïd Bey |
Cinematography | Benjamin Rufi |
Edited by | Camille Mouton |
Music by | Alexandre Tartière, Neyl Nejjai |
Release date |
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Running time | 120 minutes |
Countries | France, Morocco, Belgium |
Languages | Arabic, English |
Zanka Contact is a 2020 Moroccan film directed by Ismael El Iraki. [1] [2] [3] [4] Described as a Wild at Heart -type love story with debts to Quentin Tarantino and Sergio Leone, [5] the film was inspired by El Iraki's emotional journey and recovery after he found himself in the midst of the horrors of the 2015 Bataclan attacks in Paris. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Following a screening at the 77th Venice International Film Festival [11] where the film's lead actress, Moroccan singer Khansa Batma, won the Venice Orizzonti Award for Best Actress, [12] the film went on to be selected for over thirty international festivals and won several awards through its festival run 2020 to 2022. [13] Among them, Zanka Contact was awarded the Golden Tutankhamun Award for best feature film at the Luxor African Film Festival.
Has-been rockstar Larsen Snake returns to his native Casablanca where he meets Rajae, a street girl with a golden voice. The two madly fall in love, but their passion is quickly overtaken by their past, and the wild couple takes to the desert to escape their demons.
El Iraki kept many of the cast and crew from his shorts (including actors Said Bey and Mourad Zaoui) on his first feature Zanka Contact, also known under the French release title Burning Casablanca. The movie premiered in 2020 in the official selection of the 77th Venice International Film Festival. The lead actress Khansa Batma won the Lion for Best ActressOrizzonti section.
Despite being premiered in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie still obtained many selections in international festivals around the world : Busan International film festival, São Paulo International Film Festival or Mostra, Karlovy Vary International Film festival and many more. Shot on 35mm film in a CinemaScope Anamorphic, Zanka Contact went on to win several international awards among which the Best Film Award at the Luxor African Film Festival . Zanka Contact was theatrically released in France on November 3, 2021 under the changed title Burning Casablanca. Director explained that the change was decided with the French distributor during the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid sounding like the french phrase "cas contact", which refers to someone who had close contact with a Covid-19 case. The film beneficiated from a wave of support from film critics in France and did well theatrically for a post-COVID release.
The Moroccan release took place on December 1, 2021 to critic and commercial acclaim. 10 months later in September 2022, Zanka Contact participated in the Tangier National Film Festival and won Best Film and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for actress Fatima Attif.
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. 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 Greater Casablanca, making it the most populous city in the Maghreb region, and the eighth-largest in the Arab world.
Nass El Ghiwane are a musical group established in 1970 in Casablanca, Morocco. The group, which originated in avant-garde political theater, has played an influential role in Moroccan chaabi.
Laarbi Batma was a Moroccan musician, poet, singer, writer, actor, and the front man of the group Nass El Ghiwane.
The history of the cinema of Morocco dates back to "The Moroccan Goatherd" by Louis Lumière in 1897. During the French protectorate, films were produced and directed by French filmmakers, and in 1952, Orson Welles directed his Othello in the historic city of Essaouira. Since independence in 1956, Moroccan film directors developed the national film industry. Emergence in the 1970s met with growing international success.
The 61st annual Venice International Film Festival was the 2004 edition of the Venice International Film Festival, held between 1 and 11 September 2004. The festival opened with Steven Spielberg's The Terminal, and closed with Katsuhiro Otomo's Steamboy. The Golden Lion was awarded to Vera Drake, directed by Mike Leigh.
Saïd Hamich Benlarbi is a Moroccan-French film producer and director.
Najwa El Iraki is a Moroccan British business-woman. She is currently the Founder and Managing Partner of AfricaDev Consulting Ltd. Najwa El Iraki is the General Representative in North and West Africa of Lloyd's of London, the world's specialist insurance and reinsurance market, headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
The 77th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 2 to 12 September 2020, albeit in a "more restrained format" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Naima Lamcharki is a Moroccan actress.
Volubilis is a French-Moroccan film directed by Faouzi Bensaïdi, released in 2017. It was screened at a number of international film festivals.
Mohamed El Habachi was a Moroccan actor. He was widely considered to be one of the pioneers of cinema and theater in Morocco, and was known for his performances in many Moroccan films such as Blood Wedding and The Barber of the Poor Quarter.
Ismael El Maoula El Iraki is a French-Moroccan filmmaker. He is a survivor of the November 2015 attacks on the Bataclan in Paris, which inspired his first feature film, Zanka Contact.
Imad Noury is a Spanish-Moroccan filmmaker.
The International Women's Film Festival of Salé or FIFFS, is a film festival held in Salé, Morocco.
Mustapha Mesnaoui was a Moroccan journalist, writer, and film critic.
Jawad Rhalib is a Belgian-Moroccan filmmaker. His films, which generally tackle the themes of human rights and social realism, have been screened at numerous international film festivals and have received numerous awards.
Selma Bargach is a Moroccan filmmaker.
Asmae El Moudir is a Moroccan film director, screenwriter and producer.
Fatima Hernadi is a Moroccan actress known for Raouia.
Taoufiq Hazeb, known as Don Bigg, Bigg da Don or Bigg, is a Moroccan rapper born on October 8, 1983, in Casablanca.
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