08:23

Abandoned movie sets are used again, the actors are two local kids, born not far from the film studios, now almost abandoned, near Ouarzazate.. The two kids re-enact a few lines from movies that have been shot there, an American horror movie, Lawrence of Arabia… and all around natura and the incontaminated landscapes of the Draa Valley stand outside of time.

Morocco is an ideal place for cinema production. Many great films have been setting here. Its film history includes many famous titles from historical dramas, like “Lawrence of Arabia”, to horror films like “The Hills Have Eyes”, through to the multiple award winner “Kundun”. The region in which these epics were shot still has the architectural and cultural remains of the film shoots. Petite Histoire des Plateaux Abandonnée gives us a look at this unstable representation of history, with its biological decay of “ancient ruins” and the ability of the local desert inhabitants to recite lines verbatim from the films. It is a stylish, amusing and poignant look at what it really means to be a stand in for Hollywood.