El Hajeb Residents Protest Film’s Portrayal, Claim City Unfairly Stereotyped

The phrase from the film "Volubilis" that angers many people, including the deputy of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), Khalid El Boukarai, is summed up as, "Where do you want him to be? He must be having a good time in El Hajeb."

For many, it is an offense and "a hurtful stereotype" for the inhabitants of this city. The deputy, according to article.19, is said to have addressed a question to the Minister of Culture and Communication about this film which, according to him, "damages the image of the city of El Hajeb" and contains "vulgar language that seriously undermines" the city of El Hajeb and its inhabitants.

According to him, they have suffered for decades from a "stereotype" from which they have freed themselves, but which the 2M channel has chosen to "rub salt in the wound."

However, ’Volubilis’, according to the newspaper, tells the story of an impossible love affair of a young working-class couple in an unequal Moroccan society: Abdelkader is a security guard in a shopping center and Malika is a domestic worker. Despite money problems and without being able to live together, they decide to get married.

On the Avaaz website, a petition is circulating that urges the Ministry of Culture and Communication and the Moroccan Cinematographic Center to take action against the director and screenwriter, Faouzi Bensaidi, and against 2M for broadcasting the film.

The Tusna Forum for Culture and Dialogue has also joined the fray; it denounces the filmmaker who has attached the image of prostitution to a city with an honorable past.

For now, it is difficult to know the filmmaker’s opinion on these various denunciations. Faouzi Bensaidi would be unreachable, the media claims.