Casablanca – Moroccan animator and filmmaker Marwan Chiguer’s “Investigation” has joined the main selection of the Marrakech Short Film Festival (MARRAKECHsFF), alongside films from more than 90 countries.
Set in a noir-inspired world, the short film follows a dog and a cat who discover a chicken leg in an alley and immediately suspect something much darker.
Convinced that they have stumbled upon evidence of a crime, they begin their investigation with the help of two conspiracy-minded pigeons.
In an exclusive interview with MWN Lifestyle magazine, Chiguer opened up about the idea behind the unusual mystery, his use of animals as characters, and what four minutes taught him about telling a story.
When a chicken leg becomes evidence
For Chiguer, the starting point was the contrast between something completely ordinary and the seriousness with which his characters treat it.
“The idea started with the contrast itself. I liked the thought of taking something completely ordinary, even ridiculous, and treating it with absolute seriousness,” he said.
“A chicken leg on the ground means almost nothing to us, but for these characters it can become evidence of a terrible crime,” he said.
That seriousness naturally led him toward film noir, a genre where even the smallest detail can suddenly feel suspicious.
“A shadow, a sound, a small object can suddenly carry meaning,” Chiguer explained. “I wanted to use that seriousness to make the absurdity even funnier.”
The characters, however, never realize that they are part of the joke. They genuinely believe they are investigating a crime and that straight-faced approach becomes one of the film’s biggest sources of humor
Seeing the world through animal logic
The film’s comedy goes beyond the unusual choice of making a dog, a cat, and pigeons the investigators. Chiguer uses their perspective to explore how easily reality can change depending on how we interpret it.
“What interested me was the gap between what is actually happening and what the characters believe is happening,” he said. “They see the same world we see, but they connect the details in completely different ways.”
Using animals also gave him more freedom to play with that difference in perspective. Their logic may seem strange,yet it can still feel surprisingly familiar.
“We also tend to create stories from incomplete information, make assumptions, and sometimes become convinced by our own version of events,” he explained.
That connection between the animals and human behavior became important to Chiguer. He wanted viewers to understand more than the characters while still enjoying the way they make sense of their surroundings.
“Their mistakes are not random; from their point of view, everything makes perfect sense. That was very important to me,” Chiguer said.
Noir, but make it playful
Although “Investigation” has a playful premise, Chiguer did not approach its noir atmosphere as a joke.
“I approached the noir elements seriously rather than treating them as a parody,” he said.
The film uses dramatic lighting, strong shadows, cinematic compositions, and a world that feels much larger and more dangerous than its animal characters.
Then comes the chicken leg. “Once you place these animal characters inside that world, investigating something as simple as a chicken leg, the contrast naturally creates comedy,” Chiguer explained.
Animation gave him another way to push that contrast without losing the atmosphere. He could exaggerate expressions, poses, timing, and camera language while keeping the world visually grounded.
Chiguer said that he “wanted the film to look like the characters genuinely believe they are living inside a crime thriller, while the audience can see the humor underneath it.”
Four minutes, every second counts
A short film that runs for just over four minutes leaves little room for unnecessary details. For Chiguer, that limitation became one of the biggest lessons of making Investigation.
“It taught me that every shot has to do more than one job,” he said.
In such a short runtime, the film has to introduce its characters, establish its world, present the mystery, and “give the comedy enough room to breathe.”
That pushed Chiguer to think carefully about what the audience actually needed to see. A character does not always need an explanation when a reaction or gesture can tell the story.
“A single composition can establish both the location and the mood,” he said.
But perhaps the hardest lesson was learning what to leave behind.
“Sometimes you become attached to an idea, a shot, or a joke, but if it slows down the film, you have to let it go,” Chiguer said. “Short films make you very aware of rhythm and of the value of every second.”
Bringing ‘Investigation’ home
Having “Investigation” selected for MARRAKECHsFF gives the film a chance to meet audiences in Marrakech after what Chiguer describes as “a long and often solitary process.”
“You spend so much time working on small details, sometimes without knowing how the finished film will connect with an audience.”
That makes screening the film before a Moroccan audience particularly meaningful for the filmmaker.
“So being able to finally share the film in Marrakech, in front of a Moroccan audience, is very special,” he added.
At the same time, seeing “Investigation” alongside filmmakers from different countries gives the experience another dimension. For Chiguer, cinema can cross cultural and linguistic boundaries even when the stories themselves come from completely different places.
For the Moroccan animator and filmmaker, the festival represents more than a screening. It is encouragement to keep experimenting, developing his own voice, and taking creative risks.
“At this stage of my journey, I see it as encouragement to keep developing my voice as an animator and filmmaker, to take more risks, and hopefully to continue telling stories that can travel beyond where they were made.”
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