This film is a part of film programme “What We Left Unifinished”, presented on 8-12 December at Skalvija Cinema Center. During this programme that researches archival films, we will move on to personal and public memories.
Curatated by Karolis Žukas.
Before the Dying of the Light
This glittering collage of posters, magazine covers, archive footage, jazz music and cartoons takes you back to the art scene of 1970s Morocco viewed from the perspective of the artists and actors themselves. Many of them were to end up in prison or disappear without a trace. Dedicated to the victims of censorship and oppression, Before the Dying of the Light employs riotously edited fragments and evokes a time of excitement about the future before it was extinguished by the repressive years under King Hassan II. Now that flame is briefly rekindled, as these images are shown once again.
Ali Esaffi
Morocco, 70′, 2020
Bio
Ali Essafi was born in Morocco. After training as a psychologist, he began working in the visual arts and directing documentaries. His works as a director include Général, nous voilà (1997), The Silence of the Root Fields (1998), Ouarzazate Movie (2001), Sheikhates’ Blues (2005) and Crossing the Seventh Gate (2017), which have won praise and awards on the international circuit. In 2003, he was appointed Artistic Director of Morocco’s Société Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Télévision (SNRT). His research into North African film archives has inspired publications, films, and installations, including Wanted!, commissioned by the Sharjah Biennial in 2011, and ‘Halaqat Nord-Africaines’, a selection of the Dakar Biennale in 2014.
