Trances

The beloved Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane is the dynamic subject of this captivating musical documentary. Storytellers through song, with connections to political theater, the band became an international sensation (Western music critics have often referred to them as “the Rolling Stones of North Africa”) thanks to their political lyrics and sublime, fully acoustic sound, which draws on the Moroccan trance music tradition. Both a concert movie and a free-form audiovisual experiment, Ahmed El Maânouni’s Trances is cinematic poetry.
Trances was restored in 2007 by the Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, Ahmed El-Maanouni, and Izza Genini. Restoration funded by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways, and Qatar Museum Authority.
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Cast
- Omar Sayed
- Nass El Ghiwane musicians
- Larbi Batma
- Abderrahman ”Paco“ Kirouche
- Allal Yaâla
Credits
- Director
- Ahmed El Maânouni
- Produced by
- Izza Génini
- Produced by
- Souheil Ben Barka
- Screenplay
- Ahmed El Maânouni
- Cinematography
- Ahmed El Maânouni
- Editor
- Jean-Claude Bonfanti
- Music
- Nass El Ghiwane
- Sound recordist
- Ricardo Castro
