Morocco had a Jewish population of more than 300,000 until the 1950s. From that time on, until just after the Six Day War in June 1967, a flood of emigrants left for countries such as France, Israel, and America. Filmmaker Simone Bitton's family settled in France.

In Ziyara (a term that refers to a form of pilgrimage to sacred places), Bitton returns to her homeland and searches for the traces the Jews have left behind. There is no shortage of these. Traveling by car-and taking the opportunity to include beautiful shots of the passing landscape-Bitton makes a tour of Jewish heritage in towns and villages. She discovers cemeteries, remnants of the Mellah (the Jewish quarter), synagogues, and schools-places often lovingly and reverently maintained by the local people. Bitton talks to them about the importance of heritage conservation, and their devotion, as well as about the relationship between Jews and Muslims. One of them muses: what would Morocco be like today if the Jews had stayed?

a film by Simone BITTON

France/Morocco/Belgium, 2020, documentary, 1h39', DCP, Color

ZIYARA Clip from Icarus Films on Vimeo.

Countries: France/Morocco/ Belgium
Year: 2020
Type: Feature, documentary
Duration: 99' (1h39')
Color: Color
Languages: Arabic; French; Hebrew; English / English subtitles
Release: 2021
Copyright: 2020

Subject areas:
Africa, Morocco, Middle East, History, Jewish Studies, Religion, Women's Studies

Executive Producer:
Thierry Lenouvel (Ciné-Sud Promotion)

Co-Producers:
Lamia Chraibi (La Prod)
Olivier Dubois (Novak Prod)

DIRECTOR: Simone Bitton
Screenplay: Simone Bitton
Cinematography: Jacques Bouquin
Sound: Ghita Zouiten
Editor: Dominique Pâris
Sound Editor: Frédéric Fichefet
Sound Design (Mixing): Emmanuel de Boissieu
Camera Assistant: Soukaina Belghiti
Editor Assistant: Sonia Ahnou
Assistant Director: Merieme Addou
Sound effects: Philippe Van Leer
Color Grader: Frank Ravel

PRODUCTION
Ciné-Sud Promotion (France),
La Prod (Morocco),
Novak Prod (Belgium)

CO-PRODUCTION
Metafora Production,
TV 2M (Morocco),
VOO,
Be TV (Belgium),
Shelter Prod (Belgium)

WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Centre Cinématographique Marocain (CCM)
Aide aux Cinémas du Monde (CNC-Institut Français)
Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles
Tax Shelter du Gouvernement fédéral de Belgique
PROCIREP
ANGOA

WORLD SALES
The Party Film Sales

DISTRIBUTION
France: JHR Films
USA: Icarus Films

"Melancholic and tender, not without certain scenes of humor, the filmmaker rewinds the paths of her lineage, but also ours. That of a state of the world where popular belief is a shared tale, that which brings together more than it separates." -Nadia Meflah, Africiné Magazine

"As she has done throughout her illustrious career, Bitton brings an inimitable and thought-provoking new perspective to the complexities of the Arab world." -Kaleem Aftab, Variety

"With Ziyara -'a form of pilgrimage to sacred places' - Bitton takes the viewer on a heartbreaking, powerful and visually entrancing road trip. It's a portrait both of absence and of a relationship that could have been." -Lauren Wissot, Filmmaker Magazine

"As well as its historical and political importance, Ziyara is enhanced by the pure aesthetic delight of its documentation of older religious artifacts and places." -Matt Micucci, FRED Film Radio

LINKS
* https://icarusfilms.com/if-ziyara
* https://jhrfilms.com/ziyara/


* Projection, le 29 Novembre 2021, 20h, Auditorium (niveau -2) /// IMA (Paris) - www.imarabe.org/fr/cinema/ziyara (France)
* Selection /// Cinéma du Réel 2021 (France)
* Selection /// Middle East Studies Association (MESA) FilmFest 2021
* Selection /// Cairo International Film Festival 2020 (Egypt)
* World Premiere /// IFDA 2020 (Masters Courses) - Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2020)