When filmmaker Nabil Ayouch discovered that his new movie Casablanca Beats was playing in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, he immediately wanted to share the news. It is, after all, the first fully Moroccan film competing at Cannes. But rather than pick up the phone or send an email, he got straight into his car and drove so he could tell the news to his young cast. His destination? Sidi Moumen, the poverty-stricken area on the outskirts of Casablanca where his film is set. When he told these newcomers, they were ecstatic. “It was a very moving moment, as you can imagine.”
Sidi Moumen is a place the French-Moroccan director, 52, knows intimately, having first visited there in 1995 to shoot some documentary footage. Immediately it reminded him of Sarcelles, the “violent” Parisian suburb he grew up in during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In particular, the feeling of being so near to, and yet so far from, the cosmopolitan centre of Paris, which he felt excluded from. It was an experience he shares with the youngsters of Sidi Moumen.
“They never went to the centre of Casablanca,” Ayouch says. It doesn't help that a negative reputation had grown around Sidi Moumen after the 2003 Casablanca bombings. The suicide bombers all came from the area. “Everybody was afraid of this neighbourhood, and nobody wanted to go there. But now, things are slowly changing.”
Some of that can be attributed to Ayouch, who has found himself drawn to Sidi Moumen again and again. After shooting there for the opening scenes of his second film, Ali Zaoua (2000), he returned for 2012’s Horses of God, a fictional account of the suicide bombers, based on the novel of the same name by Mahi Binebine. The film played in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at Cannes. Struck by this vibrant area and the people he met, he decided to give something back, in the form of cultural centre The Stars of Sidi Moumen, which he founded in 2014 with Binebine.
Again, the inspiration was his own childhood in Sarcelles, and a community youth club he attended called Le Forum des Cholettes. It was, he says, what saved him; the place he was first introduced to the arts, watching films by everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Sergei Eisenstein. “It was where I learnt how to speak about the world and to write my own story. And I guess that’s the main reason why I became a director.”
When he set up his first cultural centre in Sidi Moumen, it had a profound impact on the youth of the area. “I couldn’t stop going there every week,” he says. “Girls and boys were there learning every day ... cinema, theatre, music, singing, paintings and so on. It’s a good place – a kind of island.”
There are now five of these centres across Morocco – in Casablanca, Marrakesh, Tangier, Agadir and Fez, all part of his and Binebine's Ali Zaoua Foundation, which they established in 2009.
It was while spending time in Sidi Moumen that Ayouch was inspired to make Casablanca Beats. Moroccan-born former rapper Anas Basbousi approached the Foundation with the idea of building a programme at The Stars of Sidi Moumen called the Positive School of Hip-Hop. As the youngsters began to express themselves through music, Ayouch was captivated. “I heard their personal stories, their personal backgrounds ... and it touched me very, very much.”
It took him back to his youth in the suburbs of Paris, listening to pioneering acts such as Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa. Gradually, this musical form became a movement, spreading from America, via Europe, to the Arab world. The messages were strong, often political.
I’m proud and happy for the country, for Moroccan cinema, for the neighbourhood, for those youngsters, because they gave so much to the film
Nabil Ayouch,
Moroccan filmmaker
In Morocco, too, hip-hop became a vital means of communication. “We’re very good rappers in Morocco, and they use hip-hop … not only as an art, but as a way of expression, about politics, about religion, about society,” Ayouch says.
With all this in mind, he began working on Casablanca Beats, building a feature around Anas and the children at The Stars of Sidi Moumen. “This is probably the most autobiographical movie I’ve done,” he says, with a smile. “I can find myself in each one of them.”
Ayouch wrote the script as he listened to the stories of the youngsters that feature in the film, inspired by their backgrounds. He also drew from Basbousi, even using his name for the main character. “He has a kind of natural charisma and magnetism that I think also gave strength to the character. I wanted to build the arrival of this man in this neighbourhood a little bit like a John Ford Western. And he has the character for that.”
In true Western style, Basbousi's arrival in Sidi Moumen is almost shrouded in mystery. “He’s very secretive. You don’t know much about his past. He wants to give what is the best, according to him, to these youngsters. But he’s not a nice guy. He doesn’t want to please them. But very quickly, there is a kind of link that is built between the youngsters and him. And he becomes like a big brother. And so he’s very, very inspirational for them.”
The same might be said for Ayouch, who must be something of a hero to all Morocco now. While the 1962 Moroccan documentary Children of the Sun featured in competition at Cannes, it was directed by filmmaker Jacques Severac. “It was made with the French,” says Ayouch, who is clearly delighted that Casablanca Beats is the first fully Moroccan feature film to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or.
“I’m proud and happy for the country, for Moroccan cinema, for the neighbourhood, for those youngsters, because they gave so much to the film,” he says. I can’t wait to see them in theatre the night of the screening and see the light in their eyes.” These will be the true stars of Sidi Moumen.
Casablanca Beats receives its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday, July 15
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Roma 4
Milner (15' OG), Dzeko (52'), Nainggolan (86', 90 4')
Liverpool 2
Mane (9'), Wijnaldum (25')
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Virtual banks explained
What is a virtual bank?
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.
What’s the draw in Asia?
Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.
Is Hong Kong short of banks?
No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.
India Test squad
Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill
THE SCORES
Ireland 125 all out
(20 overs; Stirling 72, Mustafa 4-18)
UAE 125 for 5
(17 overs, Mustafa 39, D’Silva 29, Usman 29)
UAE won by five wickets
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
MATHC INFO
England 19 (Try: Tuilagi; Cons: Farrell; Pens: Ford (4)
New Zealand 7 (Try: Savea; Con: Mo'unga)
MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
THE DEALS
Hamilton $60m x 2 = $120m
Vettel $45m x 2 = $90m
Ricciardo $35m x 2 = $70m
Verstappen $55m x 3 = $165m
Leclerc $20m x 2 = $40m
TOTAL $485m
THE BIO: Mohammed Ashiq Ali
Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”
Favourite TV programme: the news
Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”
Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad
THE BIG MATCH
Arsenal v Manchester City,
Sunday, Emirates Stadium, 6.30pm
Abu Dhabi card
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
The National selections:
5pm: Valcartier
5.30pm: AF Taraha
6pm: Dhafra
6.30pm: Maqam
7pm: AF Mekhbat
7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi
MATCH INFO
Barcelona v Real Madrid, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Results
Men's finals
45kg:Duc Le Hoang (VIE) beat Zolfi Amirhossein (IRI) points 29-28. 48kg: Naruephon Chittra (THA) beat Joseph Vanlalhruaia (IND) TKO round 2.
51kg: Sakchai Chamchit (THA) beat Salam Al Suwaid (IRQ) TKO round 1. 54kg: Veerasak Senanue (THA) beat Huynh Hoang Phi (VIE) 30-25.
57kg: Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Tak Chuen Suen (MAC) RSC round 3. 60kg: Yerkanat Ospan (KAZ) beat Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) 30-27.
63.5kg: Abil Galiyev (KAZ) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE) 29-28. 67kg: Narin Wonglakhon (THA) beat Mohammed Mardi (UAE) 29-28.
71kg: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) w/o Shaker Al Tekreeti (IRQ). 75kg: Youssef Abboud (LBN) w/o Ayoob Saki (IRI).
81kg: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Khaled Tarraf (LBN) 29-28. 86kg: Ali Takaloo (IRI) beat Emil Umayev (KAZ) 30-27.
91kg: Hamid Reza Kordabadi (IRI) beat Mohamad Osaily (LBN) RSC round 1. 91-plus kg: Mohammadrezapoor Shirmohammad (IRI) beat Abdulla Hasan (IRQ) 30-27.
Women's finals
45kg: Somruethai Siripathum (THA) beat Ha Huu Huynh (VIE) 30-27. 48kg: Thanawan Thongduang (THA) beat Colleen Saddi (PHI) 30-27.
51kg: Wansawang Srila Or (THA) beat Thuy Phuong Trieu (VIE) 29-28. 54kg: Ruchira Wongsriwo (THA) beat Zeinab Khatoun (LBN) 30-26.
57kg: Sara Idriss (LBN) beat Zahra Nasiri Bargh (IRI) 30-27. 60kg: Kaewrudee Kamtakrapoom (THA) beat Sedigheh Hajivand (IRI) TKO round 2.
63.5kg: Nadiya Moghaddam (IRI) w/o Reem Al Issa (JOR).
The biog
Born: High Wycombe, England
Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels
Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.
Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.
Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.
Bangladesh tour of Pakistan
January 24 – First T20, Lahore
January 25 – Second T20, Lahore
January 27 – Third T20, Lahore
February 7-11 – First Test, Rawalpindi
April 3 – One-off ODI, Karachi
April 5-9 – Second Test, Karachi
Results
3pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m, Winner: Lancienegaboulevard, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Fawzi Nass (trainer).
3.35pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m, Winner: Al Mukhtar Star, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
4.10pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.45pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Speedy Move, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar.
5.20pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Moqarrar, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy.
5.55pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Dolman, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
THE SPECS
Cadillac XT6 2020 Premium Luxury
Engine: 3.6L V-6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 367Nm
Price: Dh280,000
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
Saudi Cup race day
Schedule in UAE time
5pm: Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup (Turf), 5.35pm: 1351 Cup (T), 6.10pm: Longines Turf Handicap (T), 6.45pm: Obaiya Arabian Classic for Purebred Arabians (Dirt), 7.30pm: Jockey Club Handicap (D), 8.10pm: Samba Saudi Derby (D), 8.50pm: Saudia Sprint (D), 9.40pm: Saudi Cup (D)
Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal.
Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson.
Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
Results
4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m; Winner: MM Al Balqaa, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Qaiss Aboud (trainer)
5pm: Jabel Faya – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: AF Rasam, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
5.30pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Mukhrej, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mujeeb, Richard Mullen, Salem Al Ketbi
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club – Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
7pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Pat Dobbs, Ibrahim Aseel
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Nibraas, Richard Mullen, Nicholas Bachalard
