Rabat – Moroccan-French director Nabil Ayouch was awarded the 2021 French Coalition for Cultural Diversity Prize. The award testifies to Ayouch’s commitment to promoting cultural diversity across the Mediterranean region.
The French Coalition hailed the filmmaker’s efforts “in creating a coalition for cultural diversity in Morocco, and initiating the launch of digital cinemas in rural areas.”
Every year since 2011, many personalities and organizations are awarded the Cultural Diversity prize in recognition of their active commitment in defending and promoting cultures with their artistic projects in music, theatre, circus, and cinema.
Ayouch notably founded the Moroccan Coalition for Cultural Diversity in 2003 to promote cultural diversity awareness; he has initiated several projects in Morocco and the Mediterranean aimed at supporting local film productions.
The Cultural Diversity Prize adds up to Ayouch’s achievements on the international stage, where he has represented the Moroccan cinema by portraying different aspects of the complexity of life in contemporary Morocco.
His latest film, Casablanca Beats, was the first Moroccan film to be shortlisted for the 2022 Oscars to represent Morocco in the “Best international film” category.
The film was officially released in France on November 17 and was selected in the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
In November, the film won the Best Music Award at the 2021 Carthage Film Days (JCC).
Casablanca Beats is Ayouch’s eighth feature film; it tells the story of youth in the district of Sidi Moumen, Casablanca, with a social and artistic view of the rap scene in Morocco.
The film lifts cliches around hip-hop culture and popular misperceptions about music in a country torn between tradition and modernity.
Read Also: Nabil Ayouch’s Latest Film Awarded at the Carthage Film Festival
