A Day in Marrakech - Mehdi and Houssain Meet up at Menara Gardens

Recently Houssain spent the day with Mehdi in Marrakech to film him telling two of his stories. The film will be posted on this blog and then shown at Spring Fling (Studio 49) 27-29 May 2017, where Anne Errington will also be storytelling and available to chat about Confluence. There will also be the opportunity to view some of the first photographic work from the collaboration.

The meeting took place at Menara Gardens, a botanical garden and lake established in the 12^th Century and located to the West of Marrakech. Below, Mehdi kindly tells us a little about the stories he chose to share and the experience of working with Houssain.

“I have chosen two of my favourite stories, the first one is called ‘The Guerrab’ (The Water Seller), a very old and traditional Moroccan story that is about three words of wisdom and their relationship with the Guerrab himself. The Second story is about three brothers and the three chests and the Journey they took which changed the course of their lives.”

“Spending the full day with Houssain was marvellous. It was the first time we got to work on Confluence together and the day gave us time to get to know each other and learn more about each other’s craft. We recorded the stories in the Menara Gardens in Marrakech, one of the most beautiful and serene places to work peacefully.”  

“You could say we chose it because both stories have something in common with that place. Wherever you look it is green and water is all around. We were home and that made the experience rich and wonderful, which will show in the final cuts of the stories once they are shared.

Having said that, there were many bloopers during the filming because I am not used to performing to a camera but to a live audience, but Houssain was there and gave good advice and tips to help things run smoothly.”

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 Supported by: The LEADER Programme 2014 – 2020