A talk by Bouchra Assou, co-presented by Dhakira Collective.

Synopsis: An exploration of two unfinished films by Moroccan filmmakers Mohamed Abbazi and Ahmed Bouanani that act as case studies for the ways in which Moroccan Amazigh peoples and culture were portrayed, erased and relegated to the margins of national historical narratives both during and following the country’s French colonial rule. Assou attends to the production woes of these films in the hopes of excavating the traces of a nascent Amazigh cinema.

Bio: Bouchra Assou is a Moroccan artist and archivist based in Montreal. Assou is the founder of Dhakira Collective, an independent research, curatorial and archival platform that foregrounds art, cinema, and music outside the western canon with a particular focus on the SWANA region. She has worked with various local and international film festivals: including Images Festival, the International Ethnographic Film Festival of Quebec, Norwich Film Festival, MENA Film Festival, and image+nation Festival. As an artist, Assou's photography/ video work is rooted in elements of fantasy, magic realism and the collective imagination. Assou seeks to create her own visual language and universe inspired by cinema, fairytales and folklore.

Location: Critical Media Lab, Peterson Hall, Room 108.