the curtain threatens to fall on the screens of Morocco

“A gaping deficit of screens” : Young Africa draws up in March 2020 an inventory of Moroccan cinema which, at that time, wants to believe in a start. Theater attendance is up, the public prefers local production to American blockbusters. “Despite a gaping deficit in cinema screens and a fragile economic model, which is mainly based on public aid, the 7th Art in Morocco is doing rather well”, writes the magazine. But alas, the Covid epidemic has passed by, and the rebound in attendance recorded in 2019 is only a memory.

It was a banner year. A very relative record with only 1.8 million tickets sold! This shows the state of the 7th Art in the country which, according to AFP, only has 27 cinemas in operation. The Mégarama channel alone has six multiplexes and 48 screens, ie 70% of the offer. Moroccans prefer television. The films can be watched in streaming, on DVD. In its time, it was the arrival on the market of the VHS cassette that triggered the movement of the gradual disappearance of cinemas.

With the health crisis, cinemas remained closed for more than a year and were only authorized to reopen in July 2021. In Casablanca, two establishments paid the price, the ABC and the Ritz, which closed permanently in 2020. A record that contrasts sharply with the reputation of Moroccan cinema, praised abroad for the value of its young directors, such as Nabil Ayouch.

In the field of filming too, the pandemic has taken its toll, especially for foreign productions. The light of Morocco, its landscapes (the region of Ouarzazate, in particular), its low production costs, attract foreign producers. To the point that these films are usually on a par with national production, around twenty feature films a year.

But in 2020, only eight foreign feature films were shot there, for a total budget of nearly 60 million dirhams, i.e. revenues down 77% compared to the previous year! And if the Moroccan Cinematographic Center has not published the figures for 2021, the year does not look better due to the closing of the borders.