Special program “Destination Morocco” – “Morocco – The Spirit – The South”

Special program  “Destination Morocco” – “Morocco – The Spirit – The South”, Morocco, 2016, Erik Wieder, 26’

The friends travel across the Atlas mountains to Marrakesh, one of the most exotic cities in the world. This is where artists and poets, painters and creatives sought their inspiration. Hassan Hakmoun was born and raised here, this is the city that taught him gnawa music at age 5 and he played to feed his family.
Hassan takes the friends to the house where he grew up, the bakery that he worked in and the instrument maker that makes his Sintir from scratch.
The median, is bustling, always with the unexpected from exotic foods, clothes, entertainment, colours to the amazing blend of modern and eclectic.
From Marrakesh the friends head to Essaouira, the old city of Mogador by the sea. The blend of arabic, hebrew, french can be heard floating through this seaside resort. The home of the International Ganawa Festival. Hassan invites the original ganawa group to perform on the old fort overlooking the ocean.
From Essaouira the friend head to the southern deserts of the Morrocan Sahara, the home of the Sah Roui people. They invite one of the foremost popular artists Fnair to join them…

Traveling to Agadir a major city in central coastal Morocco. Beyond the tourist grid, this port city is the home of the Timitar Festival, a festival of Amazigh, We seek out the music styles of Haha and Arouassa.
Then venturing further into the western Sahara as guests of Hassan Hakmoun, Fnair and Nass el Ghiwan we travel by road to Ad Dakla. Through our Artist Ambassadors we seek to understand ‘GADRA’ music, its origins, how it is being preserved and the modern interpretations of this style of music.