Trances

Trances (1982)

الحال

Here at last comes the time of ecstasy, of trances.

A portrait of the groundbreaking Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane, documenting a series of electrifying live performances in Tunisia, Morocco, and France; on the streets of Casablanca; and in intimate conversations. Storytellers through song and traditional instruments, and with connections to political theatre, the band became a local phenomenon and an international sensation, thanks to their rebellious lyrics and sublime, fully acoustic sound, which draws on Berber rhythms, Malhun sung poetry, and Gnawa dances.

Date of release
1982-01-27
TMDB
6.7 / 10 (22)
Runtime
1h 30m
Genres
Documentary, Music
Director
Ahmed El Maânouni

Casting

Interesting facts

Trances is a 1981 documentary film about the influential Moroccan avant-pop band Nass El Ghiwane. It was shot, written, and directed by Ahmed El Maanouni.

Production history

Maânouni presented a working copy of the film to its eventual producer, Izza Génini (known for distributing musical films), at the first screening of his previous film Alyam, Alyam. After hearing Larbi Batma's voice and attending a concert held by the band, Génini offered her services to Maânouni as a producer.

Originally released in 1981, it was restored in 2007 by the World Cinema Foundation at Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata Laboratory. The film was picked specifically by Martin Scorsese for the World Cinema Foundation's first release and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007 and at Djemaa el-Fna square in Marrakesh, Morocco. The film has since been distributed by the Criterion Collection.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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