Moroccan Culture Minister Announces Opening of 50 Cinemas in November

Ben Guerir – Morocco’s Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication Mehdi Bensaid announced the inauguration of 50 movie theaters on November 15 in various cities across the kingdom.

The announcement came on Saturday, as the minister spoke at a seminar dedicated to the cultural and creative industries in Africa, held at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Ben Guerir.

The seminar was held on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings held in Marrakech over the past week.

“On November 15, we will open the first 50 cinemas in coordination with the private sector,” said the minister, stressing that “it’s a shame that a town like Ouarzazate, home to the world’s cinema gotha, has no cinemas.”

50 movie theaters will be inaugurated on November 15

According to the minister, the project aims to open a total of 150 cinemas and should lead to the creation of 500 direct jobs, plus 1,000 indirect jobs, for annual sales exceeding MAD 300 million ($29 million).

“These figures are set to grow, as the Ministry is betting on the creation of a trend that will reconcile our citizens with cinema-going thanks to affordable rates and a varied offering of Moroccan films,” added Bensaid.

According to the minister, such a trend will also enable Morocco “to produce and consume its own fiction,” and make the film industry an engine for economic growth and a vector for cultural democratization.

Morocco is set to host two important film events during this period, with the Tangier National Film Festival set to last from October 27 to November 4 and the Marrakech International Film Festival between November 24 and December 2.