Rabat – Moroccan director Mostafa Derkaoui, one of the country’s prominent directors and a major figure in its modern cinema, died yesterday in Casablanca at the age of 82.
Born in Oujda in 1944, Derkaoui began his studies at Casablanca’s Conservatory of Dramatic Arts before studying philosophy.
He later spent a year at France’s Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques (IDHEC) and went on to study at the Łódź Film School in Poland from 1965 to 1972, graduating in directing.
His early filmmaking included several short films, beginning with “Les Quatre Murs” in 1964, followed by works including “Amghar,” “Adoption,” “Les Gens du caveau,” and “Un Jour quelque part.”
Derkaoui directed his first feature, “About Some Meaningless Events” (De quelques événements sans signification), in 1974.
Shot in Casablanca, the film follows a group of filmmakers attempting to explore what Moroccan cinema should represent while confronting questions surrounding art, society, and violence.
The film was subjected to censorship and remained largely inaccessible for decades.
Its original material was eventually found in the archives of the Filmoteca de Catalunya in Barcelona.
The film was digitally restored by the Filmoteca de Catalunya in collaboration with L’Observatoire and the Musée Collectif of Casablanca, and its restoration was presented internationally in 2019.
While “About Some Meaningless Events” became his best-known film internationally, Derkaoui continued directing throughout the following decades.
His feature-filmography includes “Les Beaux Jours de Shehrazade,” “Titre provisoire,” and “Fiction première.
His work also extended into documentary and collective cinema. He participated in “Les Cendres du Clos” in 1976, a collective feature, and directed an episode of the Arab omnibus film “La Guerre du Golfe… et après ?” in 1992.
His filmography also includes the documentary “La Femme rurale au Maroc” and the short film “Le Doux murmure du vent après l’orage.”
Among his later works, “Les Amours de Haj Mokhtar Soldi” was released in 2001, followed by “Casablanca by Night” in 2003 and “Casablanca Day Light” in 2004.
The latter films marked the continuation of a career that moved between social themes, fiction, documentary approaches, and formal experimentation.
Derkaoui also worked in television, directing telefilms and series including “Deux moins un,” “L’agonie d’une fleur,” and “Portraits de famille,” according to the Centre Cinématographique Marocain. He also acted in some of his own films.
His contribution to Moroccan cinema was formally recognized in 2016, when he was decorated by King Mohammed VI with the rank of Officer of the Order of National Merit.
