Cannes Film Festival Debuts New Film Casablanca Beats

Directed by Nabil Ayouch, Casablanca Beats makes its world premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

Former rapper Anas takes a job at a cultural center in a working-class neighborhood in Casablanca. Encouraged by their new teacher, his students will try to free themselves from the weight of restrictive traditions, in order to live their passions and express themselves through hip hop.

When asked what the starting point was for the film, Nabil stated,

“The desire to make a film to give voice to young people. This desire is very much connected to my own story. Firstly, when I was in my teens in the 80s, I learned to look at and think about the world at the community youth club in Sarcelles where I grew up. Through arts and culture, I learned how to talk about myself and to like who I was. In my journey and that of many of my friends at the time, these places were crucial. We were trusted, we were given the words, the gestures, the space, and above all the freedom to talk about ourselves and listen to others. Years later I went to Sidi Moumen to film Ali Zaoua, then Horses of God. I wanted to leave a lasting mark in this neighborhood, this suburb of Casablanca. So, I created the Ali Zaoua Foundation to inspire cultural centers in Morocco to offer these young people the same opportunity I’d been given when I was a kid.”

On why he decided to build the film around a hip-hop dance class,

“Because of an encounter. Shortly after we opened the center, this guy showed up, 25- 26, not older. He introduced himself as a former rapper, a world that was now “behind him”, he said. But he’d come with the desire to pass it on. He offered us a program, “The Positive School of Hip-Hop” – classes to teach young people to express themselves and talk about their lives. This was Anas, who became the central character of the film. I observed him for a year with these young people, I saw him make them work, write, re-write, give them confidence in themselves. One day they put on a show and I thought they were incredible. They had talent, they put their daily lives into words so accurately, the times, society, everything. I wanted to meet them. So, I sat with them, and we talked for a long time. I was moved beyond anything I expected. I could see myself as a teenager in the 80s. The times aren’t the same, of course, nor is the country. And yet these are the same problems as in the Sarcelles when I was growing up. I understood everything: their desires, their frustrations, their doubts, their dreams. Through hip-hop, they finally felt they were being listened to.”

DIRECTED BY: Nabil Ayouch

CANNES SCREENING SCHEDULE
World Premiere – Thursday, July 15th at 10:30 pm CESTLumiere
Press Screening – Thursday, July 15th at 10:30 pm CESTBazin
Press Screening – Thursday, July 15th at 10:45 pm CESTDebussy