film locations in morocco: a tour

Morocco is a country of mountains, deserts, medieval cities, Roman ruins, and more than a few famous film locations. When you think of Morocco and film, images of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 American classic Casablanca undoubtedly come to mind. Ironically, none of Casablanca was shot in Morocco, but many classics were, including Lawrence of Arabia, Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, and Bertolucci’s The Sheltering Sky. More recently, not one but two James Bonds have been seen racing across the rooftops of Tangier, while other hits such as Gladiator, The Mummy, and Game of Thrones have been filmed on locations across the country. Filming in Morocco 

The grand architecture of Morocco’s imperial cities, picturesque mountain villages, and dramatic sand dunes make Morocco a sought-after location for the film industry. From the coast to the desert, filming in Morocco is ideal for many reasons, including its proximity to Europe, highly developed filming infrastructure, low production costs, and endlessly sunny weather.

A (brief) history of filmmaking in Morocco

Film-making in Morocco is as old as the industry itself, with one of the first films shot on location in Morocco by the father of cinematography, Louis Lumière. Lumiere and his crew were in Morocco in 1895 to make The Moroccan Goatherd, which was essentially a travelogue for an audience back in France eager to learn more about the world beyond their borders. Fast forward to the 1940s and Orson Welles, apparently due to severe financial pressures, brought Othello to Essaouira and El Jadida and the rest is history! He was soon followed by producers such as Hitchcock and Lean – Hollywood had discovered Morocco, and Morocco was happy to provide the backdrop. From Lawrence of Arabia to James Bond, the list of films shot in Morocco reads like an Oscar night.

Follow this movie

Much of the filming in Morocco is concentrated in the area from Marrakech to Ouarzazate in the south of central Morocco. Since most people’s Moroccan itinerary starts in Marrakech, get your popcorn ready, and let’s start our movie night right in the middle of the city. Marrakech’s main square, Djemaa El Fna, may look familiar as it has been the backdrop for so many international films. The square’s dizzying array of food stalls, craft stands, storytellers, theatre acts, and snake charmers have served as the backdrop for films such as Hideous Kinky, starring Kate Winslet, in Sex and the City 2, while Carrie and company sashay around the square. Although Sex and the City 2 is set in Abu Dhabi, much of the filming took place in Morocco, with the Jemaa El Fnaa square and the Moroccan cities of Erfoud and Rabat playing key roles. La Mamounia has seen its fair share of Hollywood action as Marrakech’s most historic and famous hotel. The Man Who Knew Too Much was filmed here, and Oliver Stone’s Alexander was shot in the lush gardens surrounding this world-class luxury hotel.

Filming in Ouarzazate Morocco

Heading south, we can continue our filming tour of Morocco along the ‘Route of the Thousand Kasbahs’. This classic route takes you from Marrakech over the Atlas mountains to Ouarzazate, past the backdrops of many films. Just before Ouarzazate, you will see the fortified town of Ait Benhaddou. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the town has a frozen-in-time feel as it still closely resembles its 11th-century design, thanks to some Hollywood-style restoration work. The red-brick Kasbah has been used as a backdrop for films such as The Mummy, Lawrence of Arabia, and Jesus of Nazareth (for which much of the Kasbah was rebuilt). It was the perfect location for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator and was a no-brainer for the filming of Season 3 of Game of Thrones, affectionately known by fans as ‘The Moroccan Season’. In fact, if Game of Thrones is your niche subject, you could build your Moroccan itinerary around a few more locations, with Essaouira featuring prominently in this grand epic.

More recently, David Attenborough’s A Life On Our Planet used Ait Benhaddou as one of its locations. Although very few people still live in this World Heritage site, most of the inhabitants have moved to a more modern village across the Ounila river, it is much more than a film set and a few families still live there.

No film trip to Morocco is complete without a visit to Ouarzazate. Affectionately known as the “Hollywood of Morocco”, Ouarzazate is situated on the edge of the Sahara and just south of the High Atlas mountains. The city’s scenery has provided an exotic backdrop for films such as Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Babel, and many more. You can visit the Atlas film studio just outside the city and see the Tibetan monastery used in Kundun, an airplane from The Jewel of the Nile, and other old film sets. You can also visit the Taourirt Kasbah, which was used as a backdrop for a scene in Star Wars.

Not to miss out on the limelight, Netflix has also filmed in Morocco, from the soapy Spanish period drama Morocco: Love in Times of War to the edgier thriller Close, with a healthy dose of foodie documentary thrown in for good measure.

Heading north – shooting in Tangier

Although the Hollywood spotlight tends to be on the south of the country, if you know your movies, you may recognize more than a few locations on your journey north. Both Spectre and The Living Daylights featured Bond doing his thing in Tangier, while Homeland used the coastal town of Asilah as its ‘Greek’ location. Walking through Tangier’s medina, you might be reminded of the coffee shop scene in The Sheltering Sky, or find yourself sitting in the corner of the Kasbah where Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston are eerily framed by a mosaic backdrop in Only Lovers Left Alive. The city has seen its fair share of mainstream, high-octane action with films such as Men in Black: International, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Inception top the list of films shot in Tangier, but it has also always attracted those fascinated by following in the more alternative footsteps of writers such as Paul Bowles (who, incidentally, actually appears in Bertolucci’s The Sheltering Sky) and his Beat Generation cohorts. If you want to immerse yourself in an in-depth Bowles film, watch Paul Bowles: The Complete Outsider, filmed on location in Tangier, before heading off to Cafe Hafa to sip mint tea and contemplate the horizon.

The Moroccan film industry

As well as providing an exotic backdrop to the seemingly endless list of Hollywood productions, Morocco is home to a vibrant film industry of its own. If you are interested in delving a little deeper into the Moroccan psyche, you might want to explore some of the films that have been made there. Horses of God, based on the story of the 2003 Casablanca bombings, and Much Loved were both directed by Nabil Ayouch. If you’re more into comedy, to see what brings a smile to the screen in Morocco, try Headbang Lullaby, directed by Hicham Lasri in 2017.

The Marrakech International Film Festival is an annual event, usually held in the winter, having become established both internationally and locally. It has made a name for itself on both the international and local stage, attracting some of the most famous names in the film industry, while at the same time promoting local cinema through its program and its Cinécoles competition for the best short films by Moroccan film students.