Trances
Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project
Directed by Ahmed El Maânouni • 1981 • Morocco
The beloved Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane is the dynamic subject of this captivating musical documentary. Storytellers through song, with connections to political theater, the band became an international sensation (Western music critics have often referred to them as “the Rolling Stones of North Africa”) thanks to their political lyrics and sublime, fully acoustic sound, which draws on the Moroccan trance music tradition. Both a concert movie and a free-form audiovisual experiment, Ahmed El Maânouni's TRANCES is cinematic poetry.
Restored in 2007 by the Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, Ahmed El-Maanouni, and Izza Genini. Restoration funded by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways, and Qatar Museum Authority.
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Trances
Directed by Ahmed El Maânouni • 1981 • Morocco
The beloved Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane is the dynamic subject of this captivating musical documentary. Storytellers through song, with connections to political theater, the band became an international sensation (Western music critics have ofte...
Extras
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On TRANCES
In this 2013 program, musician Omar Sayed, producer Izza Génini, director Ahmed El Maânouni, and the World Cinema Project’s Martin Scorsese discuss their personal connections to TRANCES and the resonant music of the Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane.
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Martin Scorsese on TRANCES
The following introduction to TRANCES by filmmaker Martin Scorsese, founder of the World Cinema Project, was produced in 2013.
