The "Hollywood of Morocco"

beachmontabroad
Jul 29, 2017
2 min read

A view of the entrance to Atlas Studios, one of Morocco's major film studios, located just outside the city of Ouazazarte. The studios spread out over a vast swath of desert and mountain landscapes, making it one of the geographically largest film studios in the world.

We had no idea that Morocco is such a hotspot for film-making. In fact, our primary association with Morocco and film was the 1942 classic Casablanca, which was actually filmed on a set in California. But as we wound our way out of the desert, we stopped in the city of Ouazazarte, the "Hollywood of Morocco" and discovered that film-making is a major industry in Morocco.

Atlas Studios, one of Morocco's major film studios, spreads out over a vast swath of desert and mountain landscapes just outside Ouzazarte. The studio is one of the geographically largest studios in the world. Many international movies have used Atlas Studios as a filming location, including The Mummy, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Babel and - one of our favorite TV shows - Game of Thrones.

While our visit to Atlas Studios was limited to outside the gates, we also stopped at the Musee du Cinema, a museum dedicated to Moroccan filmmaking built inside what used to be a working film studio.

The Musee du Cinema, a museum dedicated to celebrating Moroccan filmmaking.

Inside the museum, we were able to see props and sets from movies and TV shows filmed in Morocco. The museum also had a special exhibit showcasing how filmmaking has evolved over time.