Atlas Mountains: Last News

Adventurer, author and presenter Alice Morrison doesn’t do things by halves. After ditching the rat race in 2011, she’s taken on countless extraordinary expeditions all over the world and been called the Indiana Jones for girls. Born in Scotland, Alice spent her early years in Uganda and Ghana.

Marrakech is one of the largest and busiest cities in Morocco, but when you enter the Fairmont Royal Palm hotel, on the outskirts of the city, there’s a real sense of peace. With the scent of orange blossom in the air, this desert oasis is the definition of luxury, from the high ceilings of the striking lobby and the palm tree-embellished pool to the hammam-inspired spa and the stunning golf course.

The Marrakech Film Festival celebrated its 20th edition this year, arriving at the landmark some 22 years after its 2001 launch due to the missed years of the pandemic.

French-Moroccan actor and comedian Jamel Debbouze is urging tourists to keep visiting Morocco in the wake of an earthquake in the country’s Atlas Mountains region that has killed close to 3,000 people.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pape Boye’s Black Mic Mac, a recently launched banner championing African and Middle Eastern talent, is kicking off a strong first roster of projects including “Let the Earth Burn” from Sundance-prizewinning Sofia Alaoui and “The Bridge” creator Måns Mårlind. “Let the Earth Burn” is a six-part series following Kenza, a recent graduate of the police academy working in a remote station nestled in the Atlas Mountains. Surrounded by misogynistic colleagues, she starts investigating on the disappearance of some shepherds’ children. Alaoui’s credits include “So What if the Goats Die,” which won best short film at Cannes and Sundance in 2021, and “Animalia,” which won the Grand Jury prize at this year’s Sundance. Mårlind is one Europe’s best-known series’ creator with credits including “Midnight Sun” and “The Bridge” and “Shadowplay.” The film is produced by Barney Prods. and co-produced by Black Mic Mac. Other projects on the outfit’s slate include the female-powered thriller “Three Cold Dishes,” which revolves around teenagers who were sold into the sex trade who then set off to take their revenge. The movie will be directed by Asurf Oluseyi and is produced by Ifind, Alma Prods., Asurf Films and Martian Network. Black Mic Mac is repping sales in addition to co-producing.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent French-Moroccan director Sofia Alaoui made a splash at Sundance with her sci-fi thriller “Animalia,” which used genre to explore dark sides of Moroccan society. The filmmaker is now employing similar tropes in the early stages on a TV series titled “Let the Earth Burn.” “Animalia,” winner of the Special Jury Award for Creative Vision within Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition, is about a pregnant young woman from a rural Berber background who winds up emancipating herself as aliens land in Morocco. “Let the Earth Burn,” unveiled during the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra Arab film and TV series projects incubator this week, takes its cue from real abductions and slayings in remote areas of Morocco of kids known as “Zouhri” whom the kidnappers believe have supernatural powers.

Marrakech, with its delicious food, colourful souks and tranquil riads, is a magnet for celebs. Madonna rang in her 60th birthday in the Moroccan city, Idris Elba got hitched there and David Beckham celebrated his 40th at the chic Amanjena resort. OK! stayed at Marrakech’s most luxurious resort, the five-star Selman, just outside the old city walls.