Moroccan Mythologies: The Cinema of Moumen Smihi

Program director

Tate Modern, London and Block Cinema, Evanston, IL

2014

Curated by Peter Limbrick, this film program presented a focused retrospective of the work of Moroccan filmmaker Moumen Smihi, one of the most important yet under-recognized figures of modern Arab and North African cinema. The program highlighted Smihi’s innovative approach to cinematic language and his engagement with questions of history, cultural memory, and postcolonial identity. Bringing together key works spanning several decades, the series offered audiences rare access to films that have been difficult to see outside specialized archives and festivals. Through screenings and contextual discussions, the program aimed to situate Smihi’s work within broader debates on global modernism and the development of independent cinema in the Arab world. The series was presented following a successful run of the initial program, Moroccan Mythologies, at Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.