Youssef Britel's Al-Massira, is a patriotic account of 350,000 civilians' dramatic 1975 march into the Southern Moroccan territory of the Sahara desert.
November 6th, 1975 is a date engraved in the memory of the Moroccan people. 350 000 women and men have responded to the call of His Majesty the king Hassan II and have marched for the territorial integrity of Morocco. 40 years later, the director Youssef Britel and the producers Othmane Benzakour and Mehdi Belhaj have finally captured this historical moment on screen.
"The Green March is 350 000 participants, 350 000 stories. Everybody is heading towards the same and unique goal, the destiny of people and the future of an entire nation. After the Monarch's national call of unity, his people proudly started this march in order to re-conquer their land under Spanish occupation".
"The Green March" is a story about how the people of this entire nation perceived the brilliant idea of a King ; a King determined to defend and fight for the unity of a nation.
Just as the march 40 years ago, this movie is a story shared by all. The film has recreated this concept. The film starts by introducing six parallel stories of men and women determined to regain the land stolen to our Saharan brothers.
To do justice to such an imperatively and significant historical and patriotic moment, the producers and director have used vast and incredible resources rarely seen in the Moroccan cinema.
To give life to this 100% Moroccan production, it has required to shoot for more than 2 months and a half in the areas of Rabat, Salé, Casablanca and southern Morocco. Making the film in the Sahara has been the climax of the movie.
Over 1,200 extras, old costumes from that time and over 100 vehicles were mobilized to tackle the most poignant scenes of the film. It was all carried out in conditions as realistic as possible, in a studio of 3 hectares in Lâayoune.
Benzakour, Britel and Belhaj have also made use of the most technical means to hoist «The Green March» at the level of international standards whether it was for the airline filming techniques (catches via drone and helicopter) orthe realistic 3D inlays. And we must not forget the fine cast that reinforced it all (Mourad Zaoui Mohamed Khouyi, Mohamed Choubi, Saadia Azgoune, Nadia Niyazi, Rachid El Ouali, Driss Roukhe, Ghalia Benzaouia). All of this has contributed to produce this choral film expressing the many thoughts and feelings of the Moroccan people in front of such a patriotic moment: that one where citizens and the King advanced together towards a single goal, the fate of all people, the future of an entire nation.
"The Green March" is 350 000 participants, 350 000 stories.
They are all heading towards the same and unique goal, the fate of all people, the future of an entire nation. They have all responded to the call of their Monarch. They all started this peaceful march to re-conquer their land under Spanish occupation.
"The Green March" aims to be a choral film, presenting the intertwined fates of a handful of men and women, sharing the same objective: to fight for the freedom of their colonized territory.
"The Green March" tells the story of a mother, Zhor, who risked her life 40 years ago by joining to the march. Her objective was to give birth to her child on her late husband's land, the occupied Moroccan Sahara. This story is an intersection of different characters, all complementary to one another since they are all driven by the same dream, which is to contribute to the construction of modern Morocco.
The film is a vibrant tribute to all these women and men who participated in making Morocco be the great country it is today.
This movie is only a drop of water in this human tide that have walked through the doors of the occupied Moroccan Sahara.
