The always bustling city of Marrakech turns the volume way up in early December during its annual Marrakech International Film Festival, drawing celebrities and visitors from all over the world. The festival is well-loved and supported by visits from film legends such as Martin Scorsese and Terry Gilliam, who have both shot extensively in the region. Many films have been shot in Morocco, a good majority of which were shot at the Atlas Cinema Studios in Ouarzazate, a quiet Saharan town just over the Atlas mountain range from Marrakech. From blockbusters like Gladiator (director Ridley Scott is a regular visitor) and The Prince of Persia to those TV films about various Biblical stories, Atlas Canal Studios provides a startlingly realistic atmosphere for our favorite films to be shot in.
"A tour of Atlas Cinema Studios is like being physically transported through a reel of some of film's finest moments"
A tour of the studios is like being physically transported through a reel of some of film's finest moments. One can visit the room where the young Dalai Lama undertakes a test to confirm his identity as the reborn Buddha of Compassion in Scorsese's Kundun. A replica of medieval Jerusalem that was constructed for Ridley Scott's Kingdom Of Heaven, starring Orlando Bloom, still stands. And one can't help but smile to see the jet Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner hilariously make their escape in The Jewel Of The Nile. ACS is a film buff's dream come true, but it's truly a trip for anyone whose curiosity extends beyond their immediate surroundings.
Text and Photography by Johnny Misheff
