IAS Film Series: Casablanca Beats
Saturday, March 25
5:30 p.m. | Wolfensohn Hall 

Shot over 15 months, Casablanca Beats follows Anas (Anas Basbousi) a former rapper who is brought into a community center in Casablanca to teach. The director of the film Nabil Ayouch (Razzia, Horses of God) drew from his own experiences with setting up a youth cultural center in Casablanca. The community center is located in the Sidi Moumen district of Casablanca, an area rife with violence. The students, who deal with many hardships that alienate them outside the classroom, are encouraged to express themselves through their music and to rise above social conventions. Anas in this way motivates the students to be introspective in their music. Needless to say the parents aren't always thrilled with their children's self-expression. The cast is made up of first-time actors, many of whom are students in the cultural center where the film was shot and the story retains an authentic and gritty tone. Casablanca Beats is a coming of age, vibrant musical with a feminist edge, featuring original music by Mike and Fabien Kourtzer. The film runs 1 hour, 41 minutes.

Casablanca Beats was Morocco's official submission to the 94th Academy Awards. It was nominated in 2021 for the Cannes Palme d'Or, and winner of the 2021 Carthage Film Festival for Best Music.