Director
Laila Marrakchi
Cast list
Morjana Alaoui: Sofia
Nadine Labaki: Miriam
Lubna Azabal: Kenza
Hiam Abbass: Aicha
Omar Sharif: Moulay
Hassan Raouia: Yacout
Adel Bencherif: Zakaria
Assia Bentria: Lalla Zaza
Hassan El Ganouni: Ahmed
Credits
Produced by: Alexandre Aja
Associate producer: Bénédicte Bellocq
Co-producer: Jonathan Blumenthal
Associate producer: Stéphanie Carreras
Producer: Souad Lamriki
Co-producer: Romain Le Grand
Co-producer: Éric Névé
Associate producer: Matthieu Prada
Synopsis
The film tells the story of three sisters that reunite with their mother to deal with the passing of their father. These three sisters symbolize the progression of feminism and pushing back against current social organization concerning gender. Western culture conflicts with conservative muslim traditions and create another dynamic that creates a topic of conversation beyond the primary plot of the film. Steps are taken to use production values in order to authentically and accurately represent the socio-economic status of the story’s major players. Themes of this film are able to be transferred and understood cross-culturally and can be expected to travel as so.
Reviews
Rowan El Shimi, “Rock the Casbah: Amusing Moroccan-French film tackles societal challenges.” Rowen El Shimi (blog)
Jordan Mintzer, “Rock the Casbah: Toronto Review.” The Hollywood Reporter (online magazine)
Amy Assad, “Rock the Casbah review: Dysfunction meets humor at a Moroccan elite family funeral.” Asharq Al-Awsat (online newspaper)
Academic Articles:
Portuges, Catherine. “French Women Directors Negotiating Transnational Identities.” Yale French Studies 115 (2009): 47-63. JSTOR. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
Jay, Cleo. “Acting Up: Performance and the Politics of Womanhood in Contemporary Morocco.” Journal of African Cultural Studies 25.3 (2013): 305-18. JSTOR. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
Graiouid, Said, and Taieb Belghazi. “Cultural Production and Cultural Patronage in Morocco: The State, the Islamists, and the Field of Culture.” Journal of African Cultural Studies 25.3 (2013): 261-74. JSTOR. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
Boutouba, Jimia. “The Moudawana Syndrome: Gender Trouble in Contemporary Morocco.” Research in African Literatures 45.1 (2014): 24-38. Project MUSE. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.