Casablanca Beats

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1:51

Casablanca Beats

2022

1h 41m

Drama

Music

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Director Nabil Ayouch (Razzia, Horses of God) drew on his own experience opening a youth cultural center in Casablanca for this story of a former rapper named Anas who takes a job teaching hip hop in an underprivileged neighborhood. Despite differences in identity, religion, and politics, Anas encourages his students to bond together and break free from the weight of restrictive traditions in order to follow their passion and express themselves through the arts. Featuring a dynamic ensemble of first-time actors, many of them students of the real-life cultural center where the film was shot, Casablanca Beats is a vibrant and inspiring coming-of-age hip hop musical with a decidedly feminist edge. Mixing intimate yet high stakes drama with infectious musical sequences, the film transports audiences to a lively and contemporary Casablanca, far from the clichés about the Arab world. Morocco's official submission to the 94th Academy Awards® offers a refreshing dose of youthful inspiration alongside a powerful message about the liberating power of self-expression.

Critics Consensus

An inspiring fact-based story, the powerfully performed Casablanca Beats offers an uplifting reminder that formulas can be effective in the right hands.

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Austin Considine

New York Times

Sep 15, 2022

Hip-hop isn’t dead, the film energetically insists; it’s just been hiding in a Moroccan slum.

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Tom Shone

The Times (UK)

Aug 24, 2022

3/5

The teenagers’ thoughts on the matters that shape their lives — including sexism and religion — are invigorating. They are conveyed through ardent conversations as well as hip-hop.

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Danny Leigh

Financial Times

May 2, 2022

3/5

[A] vivid musical drama...

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Elsa Fernández-Santos

El Pais (Spain)

Dec 27, 2022

All in all, the best about Casablanca Beats is its earnest simplicity and belief in the story it tells. [Full review in Spanish]

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Carlos Marañón

Cinemanía (Spain)

Dec 20, 2022

3.5/5

A story with a simple plot... that mutates into a rap musical. [Full review in Spanish]

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Dan Mecca

The Film Stage

Sep 20, 2022

B

One may recall staples like School Daze or Dead Poets Society in different moments, which is meant more as a compliment than some reductive comparison.

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Gerard M

@GermWald Sep 14, 2024

hiphop garbage - express themselves? how does that manifest itself? pretentions of being music but just idiots yelling nonsense & pretending it has some kind of meri.

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Andrea C

@Charst Jul 13, 2023

Interessante e ben eseguito estratto della gioventù di un paese diviso tra tradizione e futuro. "Casablanca beats" riesce perfettamente, unendo rap a cultura locale, a raccontare numerose storie, con annessi punti di vista diametralmente opposti che elaborano pensieri e musica in modo sublime, credibile e chiaro anche per chi non conosce alla perfezione la situazione del paese. Il contesto intorno a loro purtroppo non è così chiaro, la struttura in cui sono poteva essere raccontata meglio e l'attore protagonista non è certo un fenomeno; ed il suo personaggio è il meno sviluppato tra tutti, sembra quasi un narratore esterno. Bellissimi i passaggi tra uno studente e l'altro, ognuno dei quali con una storia ed un punto di vista diverso da raccontare; tutti i temi toccati, per quanto delicati, sono espressi con rispetto ma senza paura. Bellissimo ritratto sociale.

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Nabil Ayouch

Director

Anas Basbousi

Actor

Ismail Adouab

Actor

Amina Kannan

Actor

Meriem Nekkach

Actor

Nouhaila Arif

Actor

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The World After Us

100%

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Costa Brava, Lebanon

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88%

Costa Brava, Lebanon

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Casablanca Beats: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Director Nabil Ayouch (Razzia, Horses of God) drew on his own experience opening a youth cultural center in Casablanca for this story of a former rapper named Anas who takes a job teaching hip hop in an underprivileged neighborhood. Despite differences in identity, religion, and politics, Anas encourages his students to bond together and break free from the weight of restrictive traditions in order to follow their passion and express themselves through the arts. Featuring a dynamic ensemble of first-time actors, many of them students of the real-life cultural center where the film was shot, Casablanca Beats is a vibrant and inspiring coming-of-age hip hop musical with a decidedly feminist edge. Mixing intimate yet high stakes drama with infectious musical sequences, the film transports audiences to a lively and contemporary Casablanca, far from the clichés about the Arab world. Morocco's official submission to the 94th Academy Awards® offers a refreshing dose of youthful inspiration alongside a powerful message about the liberating power of self-expression.

Director: Nabil Ayouch
Producer: Nabil Ayouch, Amine Benjelloun, Bruno Nahon, Alexandra Henochsberg
Screenwriter: Nabil Ayouch
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Genre: Drama, Music
Original Language: Arabic
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 16, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 15, 2022
Runtime: 1h 41m

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