Morocco World News
Morocco World News
Rabat, August 13, 2012
The Moroccan film “Death for Sale” by director Faouzi Bensaidi was selected to represent Morocco at the 2013 Academy Awards (Oscar), announced Thursday the Moroccan Cinematographic Center (MCC), according to MAP.
After a meeting in Rabat, the same day, the film selection committee representing Morocco chose this production “in accordance with criteria established by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science,” said (MCC) in a statement.
The film tells the story of Malek (Fehd Benchemsi), Soufiane (Fouad Lebied) and Allal (Mouhcine Malzi), three friends living from pick pocketing in Tetouan, a charming coastal city wedged between a hill and a large mountain. As the three youngsters realized that they can’t fulfill their dreams from pick pocketing, they decided to rob the jewelry of the big city, which marks the starting point of their fight.
The hero, Malek, 26, unemployed, is madly in love with Dounia (Imane El Mehhrafi) who is a prostitute in the nightclub “The Passarella.”
Since 1977 with Blood Wedding by Souheil Ben-Barka, Morocco has intermittently submitted a total of seven films for Oscar consideration, but none have yet succeeded in receiving an Oscar nomination. Films about Morocco like Casablanca of 1942 by Michael Curtiz and those that were entirely or partially shot in Morocco, such as Lawrence of Arabia by David Lean have received Oscar awards.
Since 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has been in charge of designating the recipients of the Oscar Statute, one of nine types of Academy Awards, to recognize the excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors and writers.
