- há 1 dia
Morocco is Africa’s most popular tourist destination, famous for mosques, medinas and, more recently, football. But now, Afua Hirsch goes beyond the clichés to explore how Morocco is changing. She gets the inside track from young creatives who are updating traditions, expressing new ideas and connecting Morocco to wider African culture with thrilling new art forms.
She is snapped by internationally renowned photographer Hassan Hajjaj, goes riding with Tbourida horse rider Amal Amhari and explores Amazigh rug weaving with artist Sarah Allaoui. Afua also looks into the tensions between heritage, tradition and the desire for change with pioneering women artists Majida Khattari and Zainab Fasiki and Morocco’s superstar singer-songwriter Rym Fikri.
She is snapped by internationally renowned photographer Hassan Hajjaj, goes riding with Tbourida horse rider Amal Amhari and explores Amazigh rug weaving with artist Sarah Allaoui. Afua also looks into the tensions between heritage, tradition and the desire for change with pioneering women artists Majida Khattari and Zainab Fasiki and Morocco’s superstar singer-songwriter Rym Fikri.
Categoria
📚
AprendizadoTranscrição
00:02Africa, one of the fastest-growing parts of the world, and with the youngest population.
00:10I'm Afua Hirsch, a journalist here to discover how young creatives are shaking things up
00:16and reinventing culture in some of the continent's biggest countries,
00:21Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco.
00:26Overcoming challenges and reimagining the past with art, music, fashion, and dance that's wowing the world.
00:36This is an Africa we don't usually see.
00:39Africa on its own terms and in full voice.
01:00Morocco, a country of 38 million, and Africa's most popular tourist destination.
01:09Famous for mosques and medinas, and more recently, football.
01:18But I'm going beyond the clichés, to explore how Morocco's changing.
01:26Getting the inside track from young creatives who are updating traditions, expressing new ideas,
01:35and connecting Morocco to wider African culture.
01:40That was sick!
01:44My Moroccan journey starts in Marrakesh.
01:48There's something about Marrakesh.
01:50It's just got that X factor.
01:54So I'm just really happy to be back here, and this time I am coming to meet artists
02:00that I could only dream of encountering on other trips.
02:06Nelson.
02:07Nelson.
02:19I love the fact that this place doesn't change, and yet it changes.
02:23There's so many things that are associated with timeless Moroccan culture here.
02:27The ceramics, the brass, the lanterns.
02:32But at the same time, there's always a new modern twist on it every time I come here.
02:37There's no one better to help me understand how old and new are being mashed up in Morocco
02:42than Hassan Hajjaj.
02:44He's known as the Andy Warhol of Africa.
02:48His photographs channel the essence of Morocco today for magazines and exhibitions around the world,
02:53attracting celebrities like Cardi B, Billie Eilish, and Riz Ahmed.
02:59Hassan spent his teenage years abroad.
03:01He used to be a market trader in London.
03:04Now, his visual motifs and cool styles are shaping how Morocco is seen by the outside world.
03:18Hassan!
03:19How are you doing?
03:20Oh, this is so beautiful.
03:22Nice to meet you.
03:23It's really nice to meet you.
03:24How are you doing?
03:24I'm good.
03:25How are you doing?
03:26I'm great.
03:26Thank you for inviting us here.
03:28Welcome.
03:29So, tell me about this space.
03:30What happened here?
03:31So, basically, it's called Riyad Yuma.
03:33Riyad is normally, it's a garden.
03:36And Yuma means mum.
03:38So, I kind of named it after my mum, obviously.
03:42It's open to the public.
03:43It's like a boutique gallery.
03:45And I shoot here as a studio, and I live here.
03:47So, this is what I'm going to propose to shoot you today.
03:51This is your studio.
03:51You're going to shoot me?
03:51Yes.
03:53So, I'll just put some outfits together.
03:56So, they're the idea of set up a stage for you.
03:59And you're going to dress up and perform.
04:01And I'm going to snap some pictures of you.
04:08I'm going to show you.
04:09Yeah, those gold ones are slightly cooling to me.
04:11It's definitely very different from any look I've ever experienced before.
04:16OK, I'm ready.
04:17I'm ready.
04:17Oh, my God.
04:20This is so cool.
04:21I'm going to show you this one.
04:23You're really not scared of colour, are you?
04:25No.
04:27No.
04:27You're in Morocco now, so you can see.
04:29OK.
04:30Something like this.
04:31This is so cool.
04:32Is it from flower, or should I have couscous?
04:34It's couscous.
04:35I was thinking it would be funny to have couscous written down.
04:39It feels like you're having a bit of a laugh at the foreign gaze.
04:44When you meet English friends, they start asking where you're from.
04:47When I say Moroccan, they say, oh, rajin, hashish, you know, just the Sahara.
04:53So, it was like, it's really playing on that cliché a little bit.
04:55So, you're kind of owning it and having fun with it.
05:00Queen.
05:01Yeah, exactly.
05:04I feel elevated.
05:07Feels like a very creative, artistic reframing of this culture in a way that's playful.
05:13I think what I love about what Hassan's doing is that he's not taking himself too seriously.
05:18He's just having the confidence to own his culture, to understand how it's perceived in the world,
05:24and to kind of mash it up in a really unique way.
05:27And I'm very curious to see how these photos are going to come out.
05:32How would I like that?
05:33Yeah.
05:34Look at me, right?
05:35Yeah.
05:42Tiny head this way.
05:43There.
05:44Nice.
05:48So, we can take this off.
05:50Come, come, come, come, have a tip.
05:52Yeah, come, we're going to change this.
05:57I've been Hassan.
06:00That's not bad.
06:02The whole thing is just a riot of colour and perfectly joyful clashing.
06:09So, I'm basically taking your superhero cap and now I need effort.
06:15I like the superhero.
06:16I know what you've just been.
06:17So, you know, Clark Kent.
06:24It feels like you are now getting all this recognition as a kind of, like, godfather of contemporary
06:30Moroccan art, but you've been doing this for a long time.
06:32Do you feel like the space for art in Morocco has changed during that time?
06:37I think the game has changed.
06:40I think in the past it was all about most artists from outside the West trying to make it in
06:45the West.
06:45But no, I think it's changed.
06:47I think there's people, stars in their own country or region and stuff like that.
06:51Yeah.
06:51And it doesn't matter.
06:51You don't need, like, the approval of, kind of, like, Western nations anymore.
06:56You can reach your own audience here.
06:57I think so.
07:02In the beginning it was difficult because, you know, 30, 50 years ago people really wanted to more, like, to
07:07be more closer to Europe, more European.
07:10But now the younger generation see things differently.
07:13I think definitely.
07:16Just listen, just listen, just listen to music, just listen.
07:18The last few years I've seen this really happen in Morocco, it's slowed in.
07:21There's a lot of young photographers, artists, and music.
07:24It's, it's unbelievable.
07:33No, really.
07:35So much fun.
07:39I could try on outfits all day, but Hassan's giving me a lift to my next stop.
08:07There's change everywhere here.
08:09That sense of playful reinvention, especially in the music scene.
08:15Traditional Arabic styles have lost their grip on young Moroccans.
08:18Hip-hop's taken over.
08:38This is Sigu, the new star of Moroccan rap.
08:43He grew up in the Medina and brings some of that street swag to his songs.
08:47This is Sigu.
08:48This is Sigu.
08:49This is Sigu.
08:53This is Sigu.
09:17I've seen Sigu.
09:18It's Sigu.
09:20Working with him is Ban.
09:22He's been pivotal in growing Moroccan rap from a small subculture to a genre that's
09:27which is now huge across the rest of Africa.
09:44Hi! I didn't want to interrupt.
09:47How are you doing?
09:49Nice to meet you.
09:49Nice to meet you too.
09:51I was enjoying that beat.
09:52We're trying, yeah, to mix a bit of hip-hop and traditional sounds.
10:00This is a marakshi.
10:02It's like a traditional music.
10:06And this will give it to Modern Twist.
10:12And then we have Seagull adding a lot of swing.
10:24It's a unique fusion.
10:26There's American influences, Moroccan rhythms and sounds,
10:30topped off with the Arabic dialect spoken in Morocco.
10:34Derija.
10:42And then Seagull's honest stories of life in the Medina,
10:45which connect with many young Moroccans.
10:52Even the decoration.
10:53I just went to every shop.
10:54Can I have a carpet?
10:55Can I have this lamp?
10:57Can I have this?
10:57And I just make a whole decoration, yes.
11:06What's like the bigger picture?
11:08What's the journey of hip-hop been like in Morocco?
11:10Okay.
11:11Well, it started in the 90s.
11:13They started rapping over instrumentals from Coolio,
11:19from hip-hop from the United States.
11:21So they were using like US hip-hop beats,
11:23but they were rapping over it in Derija?
11:25Yeah, in Derija.
11:25And that was a first for us.
11:27And they laughed at us,
11:28because they didn't accept the fact that we put like,
11:30I don't know, Tarija or Gumbri,
11:32you know, Moroccan instruments and traditional instruments
11:35and sounds in hip-hop.
11:37But in my perspective, it was like,
11:39man, we're Moroccan.
11:40If you want to touch Moroccans,
11:42you have to speak the same language they know.
11:44And what is it about Derija
11:46as opposed to the standard Arabic,
11:49the very specific dialect in Morocco
11:51that works well with hip-hop?
11:53So it's never about like the rhythm
11:55or about like the language.
11:58It's more about the vibe you bring with the song.
12:01Derija is so, so unique.
12:02We have this African rhythm in our language,
12:07which is quick, like .
12:09Yeah, I can hear it.
12:11Hip-hop, I guess, originates with the African culture
12:14that went to America.
12:15Yeah.
12:15Is it like the kind of African-ness
12:18that's in Moroccan culture
12:20that means it gels really well with hip-hop?
12:23Yeah, for sure.
12:24The sound, the groove, it's African art.
12:27But people think that we are Middle East
12:29and that we are not.
12:30Yeah.
12:31We have the same religion.
12:33We talk Arabic.
12:34There is some influences,
12:36but it all comes from Africa.
12:38Yeah.
12:38In the end of the day,
12:39if we can say it.
12:41Can you pour it?
12:42I'm not going to embarrass myself.
12:44Disgrace myself.
12:45You have to try.
12:46Yeah.
12:46Okay, now I feel better.
12:51That's exactly what would have happened to me.
12:53No, yes, that's right.
12:55That's how we do it, like...
13:01I love it.
13:07Many people think of Morocco as an Arab country
13:10simply on African soil.
13:12But the African roots of Moroccan culture
13:15are everywhere here,
13:17if you know where to look.
13:19Come on, Johnny.
13:26I'm leaving the city,
13:27heading east,
13:28over the Atlas Mountains.
13:35Now we're actually right in the Sahara Desert.
13:38It feels like a completely different country here.
13:41So much more remote,
13:43so much more sparsely populated.
13:46Such a wild landscape.
13:49And this is where
13:51there is a concentration of Amazir people.
13:54Amazir, from what I know,
13:56are considered the indigenous inhabitants of this country.
13:59And they are real bastions
14:01of much of what has become
14:02wider Moroccan art and culture.
14:06The Amazir used to be called Berbers.
14:09They have a unique African culture.
14:11It stretches back thousands of years,
14:14to a time before Islam
14:15or the arrival of Arab settlers.
14:2140% of Moroccans have some Amazir heritage.
14:25But it's a minority culture
14:27with a history of being sidelined.
14:30Amazir rugs are imitated across the world.
14:34Sarah Aloui, a young entrepreneur,
14:36is on a mission to keep traditional rug making alive.
14:41Hi, hello.
14:42So good to meet you.
14:43Welcome to Tasnacht.
14:45Lovely to meet you.
14:46How are you?
14:46You brought me to a really special place.
14:49Yeah, very much so.
14:52So this is the weekly Tasnacht Souk,
14:55where basically the magic happens every week.
14:58Definitely lively.
15:00And is this where weavers come to do their trade as well?
15:04So this is the main destination to buy and sell their rug.
15:09So how did you come to be in this market in Tasnacht?
15:14I started a business a couple of years ago,
15:16sourcing Amazir rugs,
15:19but directly sourcing them from weavers.
15:22Why did you want to source directly from the weavers?
15:24So my grandma was a weaver.
15:26Wow.
15:27And when she passed out a couple of years ago,
15:30it was just a journey for me to kind of try and understand
15:34where I come from because of the stories.
15:36Sorry you lost her.
15:37In recent years,
15:39there's been a resurgence of the culture.
15:42I think it's due to this generation, our generation,
15:47and what we're trying to do is retain the identity that is ancient
15:51but is slowly kind of like fizzling out.
15:54The weavers in our culture hold our identity through woven textiles.
16:00Each of the symbols holds meaning.
16:02The rugs typically you can read them like a book,
16:05but essentially from top to bottom.
16:13It's quite geometric, isn't it?
16:15Yes, it is.
16:16So the zigzag is typically a male symbol that signifies virility.
16:21So typically you'd find it either on its own or combined with diamonds,
16:26and the diamond is the woman's view, but it is very much reproduction,
16:31fertility, which is such a big thing in our culture.
16:33Yeah, I guess it reflects what people are preoccupied with.
16:36Yes.
16:37This is what we call a lafibul, a symbol for funding evil.
16:42Do you wear it like a talisman?
16:44Yes, a talisman and luck.
16:47There's more to this story than a passion for weaving and rugs.
16:51Amazigh activism has been growing in recent years.
16:56The Arab Spring of 2011 is usually seen as a pushback against conservative values.
17:03But Amazigh protesters were on the streets too, demanding rights and recognition.
17:11Sarah's work with rug makers is part of that wider struggle.
17:19Oh, Khadija.
17:20This is what you're making.
17:25Don't let me stop you.
17:26I would love to see her.
17:35She makes it look so easy and I can tell it's not.
17:40So, do you want to have a go?
17:42I would love to.
17:44Okay, I got it.
17:46So I kind of pull it forward.
17:49Oh, I just broke it.
17:52Sorry.
17:53It's actually quite delicate.
17:58Oh, shoot.
17:59It's okay. They reuse it.
18:01They reuse it?
18:01Yes.
18:02Oh, you're going to use that beautiful comb.
18:05Oh, right.
18:06You've got to put your back into it.
18:08This is what makes Amazigh rug so special.
18:11The knots are really tightly packed.
18:14So much wool goes into each little square millimetre of rug.
18:18I'm going to try not to break this one.
18:21Another one?
18:22Okay.
18:24Okay.
18:25Okay.
18:26Okay, I'm ready this time.
18:32It's just so much labour and everything is just done from scratch with these old natural processes.
18:39I just find it so mesmerising.
18:51This generation is looking at everything we have that makes us Moroccan, makes us Amazigh.
18:57I am fully embracing things that are beautiful about our culture and kind of bring us together.
19:02So we all work collectively to try and preserve it.
19:08I'm not gifted at this kind of activity, as she can see.
19:12But I've made a few knots.
19:14I mean, I can feel like I've contributed in a tiny way.
19:18Oh, shit.
19:19She says, messing one up to this beautiful rug.
19:26It's inspiring to see young Moroccans fighting to keep heritage alive.
19:34Back across the mountains is one of the most exciting stories of tradition meeting the modern world.
19:45Amal Ahamri is the queen of Tuberida.
19:50It's a horse display where teams compete in simulated charges.
19:57She's bringing this centuries-old tradition up to date and smashing the glass ceiling.
20:05Amal leads the first ever female team, winning competitions against the men.
20:14Maybe against my better judgement, I'm going to try Tuberida for myself.
20:21Amal.
20:22Wow.
20:24So tell me about what you're wearing.
20:25You look incredible.
20:26So this is traditional Moroccan clothes.
20:29I see the flag colors.
20:31I see the Moroccan flag and also the color.
20:33I will give you this.
20:35Okay.
20:36So I'm going to get to put these beautiful clothes on as well.
20:39Yeah.
20:43I'm going to ride in this.
20:45Yeah.
20:45But it's white.
20:51Who needs total practicality when you can look this remarkable on horseback?
20:59Getting ready, putting on the clothes.
21:02They're so infused with all this symbolism and nationalism.
21:05Yeah.
21:06Cultural pride.
21:07And it really feels like this is part of it.
21:09The ritual.
21:10Yeah, it's a big one.
21:11Sit here.
21:14Oh, you're not giving me a gun.
21:16Yeah, because you should have this.
21:21Okay.
21:22Okay.
21:22I'm definitely a beginner level.
21:23Your hand up.
21:25Close to your ear.
21:27Close.
21:29Push it down.
21:31High to the public.
21:32High to the area.
21:34High.
21:34Tachia.
21:35Tachia.
21:37Pay attention.
21:38Tachia.
21:39Like this, like this, like this, like this, like this.
21:42House galloping.
21:43And now.
21:45Where are you?
21:47No, at the same time.
21:49At the same time.
22:08No problem.
22:09That was hot.
22:12The black powder, it's very dangerous.
22:14Gosh.
22:15But before, I never felt scared or afraid.
22:19But when I had my two children, I started to feel that, Amal, pay attention.
22:25Amal, don't do this.
22:27Yeah.
22:28But I love tourists.
22:29This is the problem.
22:30This is the problem.
22:31You can't stop.
22:32I can't stop.
22:33I think it's part of who you are.
22:34Yeah, of course.
22:35It's your identity.
22:36Like you, your tent.
22:37Yeah, exactly.
22:38This is the world.
22:39Your trophies.
22:39This is the world.
22:41It's our.
22:42It may be all of Moroccans.
22:44It's our identity.
22:45What's the reaction of men being, and Moroccans generally, to seeing women do this?
22:51Men try to forbid women to doing this.
22:55Really?
22:56Why men forbid us?
22:58Yeah.
22:59It's my identity too, so I should do it.
23:17The thought of galloping while holding a gun, it's a bit much for me.
23:23Time for the pros to show me how it's done.
23:51Time for a woman like Amal to insert herself into a really ancient tradition that's been
23:59very male dominated just takes a huge amount of resilience.
24:05But it's also relatable because it comes just from this love for her culture.
24:09And even though that's really specific, and actually I've never seen anything like
24:13to breed it ever, I think it is actually a more general phenomenon that's happening
24:19here, that people are taking their culture, their history, and it is very weighty old history,
24:24and reinterpreting it, and they don't perceive any contradiction between those two.
24:28And I think that's the lesson for us all.
24:36I'm leaving the horses and heading south in search of more Moroccans being creative with tradition.
24:42It's brought me to the coast, to Esauera, historic port turned cool surf spot.
24:52It's also a cultural hotbed where there's new interest in Morocco's deep links to the rest of Africa.
25:00I'm enjoying Esauera, a really ancient town, all these narrow cobbled streets,
25:06jumbled market stalls, the sounds of seagulls, the smell of salty sea spray.
25:12But the reason I've come here is because Esauera is also the cultural home of Nawa in Morocco.
25:19Nawa is the musical legacy of enslaved people brought to Morocco some thousand years ago.
25:31You can clearly hear West African rhythms and words.
25:47This is Rabbi Hanun, a young Nawa master.
25:54He's a walking Nawa library.
25:57He scours Morocco, collecting a repertoire of songs from other musicians.
26:04I'm from West Africa, my mother's from Ghana.
26:07I can hear very West African, Central African, like the drums, the rhythm.
26:13Even the way they're wearing a towery shell.
26:16It looks like it's from black Africa.
26:24Rabbi is passionate about the old ways.
26:27But he's making a name for himself by shaking things up.
26:42He's having pain and hey, one night when he hits Period.
26:49He always makes the ability for educators to eat Genova.
26:51The author tells her Brooklyn Shen.
26:52He puts the Bao Saga и рест造ider cars.
26:53And eventually, another part of it lives every month.
26:56Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.
26:59You just pick it up.
27:00Yeah.
27:00And then step by step, you go to Karqaba.
27:03It's a metal percussion instrument.
27:07And then comes dancing.
27:10And then the Gimbri is the last thing you learn.
27:14Yeah.
27:17You should collect your repertoire.
27:19That's about 200, 300 songs.
27:21That's incredible.
27:24Are you going to join in with them?
27:26Yes.
27:26Yes.
27:27I will.
27:28Let's do it.
27:57I'm totally new to Ignawa, but it's really immersive and hypnotic.
28:02It's also amazing how Rabi just jumped in.
28:05He just seemed to know exactly what was happening.
28:07He's never played with these musicians before.
28:09It's obviously a language that people from different parts of the country who've grown up in this tradition will know
28:14how to speak.
28:23Nowa music is a delicate thread, connecting Morocco to Africa beyond the Sahara.
28:32Rabi's plan is to keep Nowa alive by reinventing it.
28:38He's been collaborating on a fusion of Nowa and electronic music with German producer V.B. Kuhl.
28:45The Black female producer V.B. Kuhl.
28:45The Black female producer V.B. Kuhl.
29:06The Black female producer V.B. Kuhl.
29:13TuGousain Lot
29:16No newson
29:18No newson
29:19TuGousain Lot
29:40Subtitle by
29:41That was amazing!
29:44It's such a vive!
29:46it just feels like your whole styles have like really gelled together you know like it was made
29:52for each other but you're actually coming from quite different traditions very different i don't
29:56know it was more like like an accident i would say it's also rabbi he can understand this kind
30:04of beats this is very very important yeah i see that it's definitely like a two-way flow
30:09rabbi can play let's say three more songs or four more songs to the same beat and he
30:15change a little bit here and there and uses the repertoire and so we go back and forth and
30:21yeah it goes on it's like like you said a dj mix electronic with this old old music which is
30:30crazy right yeah when he plays a beat i go to my library and look which look which which song
30:37will fit and then just play it so then it really helps that you know the entire repertoire by heart
30:43you literally have the library yeah in your head do you enjoy like mixing up in a more contemporary
30:50way like what you're doing with bb i like to play to do the traditional way only with car cover
30:56but i
30:56also like other genre of music i like to play on different beats the hip-hop beat or we can
31:04also use
31:06a funk beat and i like to to adapt my gimbri lines to this it's a challenge for me to
31:13do it and i have
31:14fun to do it yeah it looks fun it sounds gorgeous and it you hear it differently actually when it's
31:20with
31:20the beat like this you'd feel like a different side to the music and let's play something different in
31:27the same beat yes okay
31:53the next morning and rabbi's laura rhythms are still running through my head
31:59such an intriguing blend of old and new
32:18i have heard just experiencing now that deep ancestral connection to the rest of the african
32:25i can hear sounds that take me back to my travels in mali senegal ghana nigeria
32:31and it makes sense this is one continent its history has been one of constant conversation
32:37invasion trade intermarriage now is the glue that binds these histories together
32:46rabbi's not alone in exploring the african connection
32:50there's a new pride i felt here younger moroccans are looking at their history and future as part of
32:59africa
33:02and then as i stay overnight in the capital rabat it feels like a moment for morocco
33:09and the continent is unfolding outside my hotel
33:14gradually it's become harder and harder to avoid the fact that morocco is making history in the world cup
33:22we've just seen the quarter-final match where morocco beat portugal making it the first ever african
33:29nation to go through to the world cup semi-final it's actually emotional and the atmosphere here is
33:37ridiculous everyone is empty down to the streets they are sitting on top of their cars they're waving flags
33:43they're chanting i have no idea what it's going to mean for the long term future of morocco
33:51morocco pride morocco sport but right now it's just the atmosphere of pure joy and uh
33:57what luck that it just happens to be all the way here telling the story
34:06is
34:06beyond the football change is in the air
34:10morocco is still a conservative islamic country in many ways
34:15but you sense it's also looking to the future
34:20women artists are spearheading debate around sex and gender
34:28women artists and women artists and women artists and women artists and women women
34:33she's famous on the global art scene for work on controversial topics
34:38she often plays with what she sees as stereotypes of moroccan women as erotic and submissive
34:44by taking old images and reworking them
34:57today she's starting a new project about female sexuality in islamic societies
35:05how are you hi have you just started working on this today yes
35:14are you inspired by this painting here yes c'est une peinture que je voulais copier et
35:25aussi mettre en scène sous forme de photographie ça c'est une interprétation de cette image
35:32so i'm not going to interrupt you please can i watch for a bit while you've finished the painting
35:37thank you so much
35:43this is an image taken from a really classic book that was first published in 1850
35:48called the enchanted garden it's by this tunisian author who was really celebrating
35:54sexuality within islamic traditions all these things feel like very modern ideas and i think
36:00majida is really reminding people and educating people about how this is actually deeply part of
36:05tradition in muslim countries majida's process is fascinating and multi-layered i'm interested to
36:13see how her sketch will become part of the photo shoot majida's making a few subtle changes to the
36:20original image one of which is the table ornaments which are quite pedestrian in the original image have
36:25been upgraded to a slightly more erotic even phallic look
36:33i've always been interested in these themes of sexuality relationships
36:37yes intimacy yes because it's very interesting it's very interesting
36:42no no i think that now we have to talk about this we have to talk about the question of
36:50the interpretation
36:51we have to talk about the interpretation of the religion and especially sexuality in the religion
36:57because it's very rich and it allows us to move forward
37:01it feels like a slightly scary subject but you seem so free and comfortable with it
37:06so what happens next now you finish this
37:18but before the photo majida's work takes an unexpected direction
37:28i'm apparently key to the whole piece
37:34i feel regal i don't think i've ever worn a crown tiara uh head jewels
37:47and now for the final staging of majida's masterpiece
38:05for the final staging of majida's masterpiece
38:15for the final staging of majida's masterpiece
38:30I could never have imagined this, I wish my imagination stretched this wide, but I'm
38:37inside Majidah's world.
38:39This is unlike anything I could have anticipated, more elaborate, more ornate, more layered
38:44and complex, more visually rich and seductive, I mean it's just a total feast for the senses
38:53and the intellect because there's a lot going on.
39:24I think the Arab world was at a certain time much more free than now and that these discussions
39:32and these exchanges were much more permitted than now.
39:36And that's why I want to make an update of this book and I want to show it and illustrate
39:44it,
39:44interpret it in my way.
39:52Oh wow, the whole scene, it looks unreal with the painting behind, now I see the whole
40:00vision.
40:01Are you happy?
40:03Yes, very good.
40:03Is this what you wanted?
40:05You're the ideal model for my mise-en-scene.
40:09Oh my goodness, that's a very lovely thing to say.
40:12Majidah says I'm the ideal model for her.
40:14It's one of the best compliments I've ever been paid.
40:19Majidah is such a pioneer, not just as a female artist from Morocco, from the Arab Muslim world,
40:27but also as somebody who's been tackling those still controversial questions about the past,
40:32the way that cultures like Morocco have been seen by the West and stereotyped, romanticized.
40:40And what I found so inspiring about Majidah is that she talks about an artist's responsibility
40:45to really open up those questions, even if they're uncomfortable, even if they are controversial,
40:50that that is the role of art, is really to open up dialogue where dialogue didn't exist.
40:58There's been a feminist revolution in Morocco recently, with some big advances for women
41:04on marriage and sexual rights.
41:06And a new generation of women artists are taking a more direct approach to what they see
41:11as an unfinished battle.
41:16That's what's brought me to Casablanca, Morocco's biggest city.
41:20Busy, modern, it's the place to be.
41:24I've come here to meet some artists who represent a new generation,
41:30young women who are questioning the structures underlying Moroccan society through their art,
41:37so I'm going to see what they have to say.
41:43Zainab Fasiki is a sensation, daring and provocative.
41:48Her recent graphic novel, Shuma, means shame and has shaken up Morocco.
41:54Its nude images are full frontal attack on conservative values.
42:00This is my studio where magic happens.
42:06Okay, I really feel like I'm in your world now.
42:11As you can see, I defend women's rights in my work, body freedom.
42:16It's a shame to be a woman.
42:18It's a shame to be free in our own body, so I'm trying to correct ideas.
42:26I see that.
42:27So your images, there's a lot of, it looks like women just being comfortable in their skin,
42:33celebrating their bodies.
42:35It's actually me and my body.
42:37It's all you.
42:38And it made a lot of people angry, like, how dare you draw yourself?
42:43You should not.
42:44It's Shuma.
42:44So I was like, okay, a book is needed.
42:48Just to explain my comic book, it's also a sexual education guide.
42:55A queer and secular one.
42:57I mean, that's quite contentious everywhere, but in a country that still has a lot of
43:01conservative Muslim ideas, that sounds quite radical.
43:05When I first started to sign it in bookstores around Morocco, it was always crowded with
43:12parents, with their kids coming, oh, we finally have someone.
43:16So there are a lot of people who want this.
43:18It's the first book ever that will openly defend abortion and sex outside marriage,
43:25changing laws in an open way.
43:29Is it illegal to have sex outside marriage in Morocco?
43:31Still?
43:32Yes.
43:33It's illegal to have sex outside marriage.
43:35It's illegal to be gay.
43:36It's illegal to do abortion.
43:38And it's all because of the Shuma cultures.
43:40So you're working on new books.
43:43I would love to see how you create these images.
43:49It's just like drawing on paper, like.
43:56So what image are you creating here?
43:58I'm just drawing a 16-year-old girl who is forced to get married.
44:07I can already see she's looking sad.
44:10I feel like there's going to be a lot of sad facial expressions for this girl.
44:23This is really incredible to see how you've just created this girl.
44:27She's such a real person already.
44:31Have you seen a change?
44:33There are a lot of changes.
44:35Like, and you know what?
44:36This is what keeps me really motivated every morning to wake up and continue working.
44:42Because I can tell you that 10 years ago when I first published one of my naked portraits, everyone was
44:50angry.
44:50But today when I do it, people are just like, they're fed up, they've seen enough naked bodies.
44:57Like, I'm really proud of the fact that I published so much naked bodies that men today are like, okay,
45:03we get it.
45:04They're desensitized.
45:05We're not going to harass that body. We respect it.
45:09And I feel like that says more about your relentlessness than it does about the society.
45:14Yes.
45:15So, it's part of the change is to never give up.
45:19Yeah.
45:21I'm trying to change a culture that lasted for about 12 centuries in North Africa.
45:28I know I'm not going to change things with a book over two years or three years.
45:32It's a matter of generations.
45:35Wow, that's it. It's done. You did that so quickly.
45:39Wow, I can't believe how fast you work. And I love it. It's very evocative.
45:44Yeah.
45:47I think Zainab's story is one of things that haven't changed in Morocco.
45:52The things she's fighting against, patriarchal beliefs and values that keep girls and women in an unfair position.
45:58But it's also a story of what has changed because I think it would have been impossible to do what
46:05she's doing in the quite recent past.
46:08She's seen messages that were really radical and really dangerous almost to express now be kind of tolerated, if not
46:16enthusiastically received.
46:18So it does give me a sense that Morocco is the country in transition.
46:28Zainab's art is focused on women, while other artists are taking a hard look at Moroccan men.
46:37I'm heading across town to the Casablanca Medina.
46:44There's an artist here I'm keen to meet who's made her name challenging traditional ideas of masculinity.
46:54Yasmine Hatimi is a quiet radical, using her photography to question what it means to be a man in Morocco
47:02today.
47:03I'm joining her on a shoot which explores the relationship between fathers and sons.
47:08Zacharian Taglis and Yassir is a direct domestic.
47:14The Football of Cuzac.
47:17I'm not sure what this is.
47:24What's wrong?
47:25So, what's going on?
47:25You're out there to join us.
47:31Wow, that's great.
47:33They're sitting together, looking a little bit bewildered by this whole set-up, but really
47:40just allowing her to capture their relationship, and there's something, especially as we're
47:45in their home, very intimate about seeing this man with this little boy, and I'm quite
47:50moved by this, it's just always really lovely to see very loving parent-child relationships.
47:56I think the reason that she's doing this work is that men in this culture aren't always
48:01given the space to be tender and sweet and affectionate, or we don't get to see it,
48:06so that's what she's capturing, and I'm just watching as she works.
48:40The power of Yasmin's work comes from its subtlety.
48:45She finds a vulnerable side to Moroccan men that feels quite unexpected here.
48:53Her intimate shoots are also chances to open up tough conversations, change minds even.
49:05Yasmin now takes me to a gallery, where there's an exhibition of her project, The New Romantics.
49:17So where does your interest in masculinity come from?
49:22Well, first of all, we live in a patriarchal system, and I think we don't ask ourselves questions.
49:31When we are born, we have an education, and we are born with certain beliefs and a way we
49:37have to act and everything, and we don't question that, but today it's changing.
49:43Today everybody questions everything, so that's a good thing.
49:47Young people were really receptive and wanted to talk and give their opinion and everything.
49:52Now the oldest generation was something else. It's like young versus, you know, it's confronting,
50:02two generations confronting and having a dialogue.
50:05So have you encountered people with views that are very radically different to yours?
50:10Someone said, it's important that we give women their rights, but not too much.
50:15And I was like, okay. I like that you say that to me.
50:24It's important to talk with people you don't agree with. That's the most important thing to do.
50:31I think there's something quite specific about what she's doing in Morocco, questioning what
50:37masculinity means here. It's as if she's had to put so much thought into how she can create
50:42images that speak to that without alienating people, but also pushing things forward. Because
50:47as a young woman, I think she has a sense of impatience that she needs to see these conversations happening.
50:53Actually being more gentle and trying to bring people with you, trying not to alienate people,
50:58doesn't water the conversation down. It can actually make it stronger.
51:03It's exciting to see young artists like Yasmin fired up about creating change.
51:09And my final stop is to meet someone who brings so many of the changes I've seen together.
51:28Rim Fikri is Morocco's newest pop superstar and a glimpse into the future. This is her confessional debut.
51:36Without a major label behind her, she got her song out on YouTube last year
51:41and went viral overnight, catapulting 22-year-old Rim to instant fame.
51:48I'm invited in to watch her finish off her latest hit.
51:511, 2, 3
51:541, 2, 3
52:05Nice. Elle est bien.
52:07Yeah.
52:091, 2, 3
52:35That sounds so nice.
52:37work to do to finesse this but the one thing that's coming across in abundance is that
52:42Rim has a beautiful voice. It's like honey.
53:15Rim's success makes sense. She's got that Gen Z appeal. She's raw and honest and doing it completely on her
53:24own terms.
53:25Rim, can I ask you what you're singing about in the lyrics?
53:29So the first song it's just about me and my past, the loss of my father. I wrote it when
53:36I was depressed.
53:39I was really, yeah.
53:43I think that's why people really gravitate towards you because everyone can relate to going through hard times.
53:49If you're honest about it then everyone will be able to relate to what you're singing about.
53:54I always do everything with emotions. I like to write some lyrics that people can, you know, feel.
54:00I've watched some of your videos and even though I can't understand the lyrics, I can feel the emotion, the
54:05way you sing, the way you perform, the way you connect with your audience.
54:09Why is it important to you that it should come from your heart, from your lived experience?
54:16Because it's me and you know like people they love you when you are you, yes, when you are authentic.
54:23So I can't just lie and sell an image that it's not mine. I wasn't expecting like the success of
54:31the song.
54:32The first song had like 20 million views.
54:34I was just hoping one million, you know.
54:36Just one million.
54:37Yes.
54:39So now you're gonna find this hook.
54:41That's what we're trying to do right now.
54:49We are trying to get together.
54:53This song is about 15,000 meters.
54:55That's the song is about 15,000 meters.
55:00Here we go.
55:01And if we are trying to follow the song, we will not be able to 이렇게.
55:02We are trying to use the song about 15,000 meters.
55:05And we are trying to be able to lovieve.
55:06That's how we are.
55:09That's how we are.
55:10We are trying to say that we are being able to make something.
55:10Do it.
55:12Now I got to keep one.
55:12ooh
55:14uh
55:16I
55:16I
55:24see
55:26yes
55:27change
55:28with
55:35Diti!
55:41Let's go.
55:43Let's go.
55:47I thought you were going.
55:57They were looking for this missing hook and they literally just came up with it and it
56:04was actually quite electric to see because it was very collaborative.
56:07They both came up with this idea together and NAB started singing it and then RIM started
56:12singing it and as soon as I heard her sing it, even I could feel that it was like the
56:17missing layer to make the song really pop.
56:27Actually, we did it.
56:29No.
56:30I love that you love it as well.
56:32I could see you're so happy.
56:33Actually, this one for me, I believe in it.
56:36I think that it could be a hit.
56:38Thank you for sharing this with me.
56:40It was very special to see you guys create live.
56:44If you haven't been here, there wouldn't be a song like this.
56:46I mean, I'm glad you said that.
56:48I was hoping you might.
56:49Honestly.
56:49I don't want to take any credit at all, but I did feel hard at this.
56:52I'm giving you the credit.
57:02I'm leaving RIM's studio on a high.
57:05Her song sums up the youthful energy of Morocco's culture right now.
57:11Her career feels like the product of a society that's changed.
57:16It's been incredible to see young Moroccans updating their past with pride and women artists
57:23pushing boundaries.
57:25But the biggest revelation has been hearing how Moroccans see themselves.
57:37It's been abundantly clear to me through all my travels across Africa that this is a continent
57:44in the midst of a cultural renaissance.
57:46But I was less clear about whether Morocco saw itself as part of that story.
57:52So close to Europe, with very strong ties to the Middle East and the Islamic world, but
57:57also on African soil.
57:59But what I found is a new generation of artists and creatives who are unapologetically associating
58:05themselves with what's happening everywhere in Africa.
58:08And that has been really refreshing and fascinating.
58:12And for me, absolutely joyful to see.
58:16Next time, Nigeria.
58:18The power of protest music.
58:21The art of a big, big wedding.
58:23And what fuels young Nigerians' extraordinary drive to succeed.
58:33And meet the father of Afrobeat, who created the sound of the continent tonight at 11.30.
58:38Over on BBC4.
58:40Or have the civil war rage before your very eyes.
58:43Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland is up on BBC iPlayer via the red button.
Comentários