The result of in-depth dialogue and unprecedented consultation, the project required 40 meetings and nearly 160 hours of discussions with the General Secretariat of the Government. It reflects the expectations of professionals in the sector by integrating 95% of the demands resulting from sectoral consultations. A long-awaited reform, as Mohamed Khouna, President of the Commission to Support the Digitization and Modernization of Cinema Theaters at the CCM, explains: “The last law on cinema, dating from 1970, was not never really been revised. The new text marks an essential modernization to adapt the cinematographic ecosystem to today’s realities.
With such scope, this bill promises to breathe new life into the Moroccan film industry, by reforming its bases and stimulating its growth dynamics. “This law will bring transparency to the entire ecosystem. It will also allow investors, especially new ones, to consider the Kingdom in a different and more attractive light,” underlines Mohamed Khouna.
Operation and distribution: At the heart of the reforms
Presented as a true “Cinema Code”, Bill No. 18.23 brings together for the first time all the scattered provisions that have hitherto governed the Moroccan film industry. Among its major innovations is Article 23, which addresses a long-standing structural imbalance in the Moroccan film distribution market. This article now prohibits a film distribution company from directly owning or operating cinemas or from holding shares in companies operating these cinemas. The stated objective is clear: to restore fair competition and revitalize the sector’s value chain.
Among the first to react to this measure, the French group Megarama, a dominant player in the Moroccan cinema landscape, did not hide its concerns. Holding 48 screens, or nearly two thirds of the national fleet, and garnering 82% of ticket revenue in 2023, Megarama represents a significant share of the market with 35% of films distributed last year. Faced with these upheavals, its founding president, Jean-Pierre Lemoine, said, in a statement to the French daily Le Monde, that he was “in shock” and is even considering a total or partial sale of his theaters in Morocco: “After having invested millions of euros in this country for more than twenty years, I feel treated like a pariah.
However, this reform is not seen as a sanction, but as an opportunity for rebalancing, according to Mohamed Khouna, also CEO of Facility Event as well as its subsidiary Film Event Consulting active in Morocco, specializing in film distribution. “This is not a punishment for Megarama or other dominant players. It is a necessary response to restore equity in an unbalanced ecosystem,” he explains. Khouna points out that the monopoly exercised by certain distributors has strongly marginalized Moroccan professionals, depriving them of economic and creative opportunities. “For years, local distributors like Imane Sbahi or Mohamed Alaoui have seen their activities collapse due to lack of space on the market. This bill gives hope and inspiration to these players by stimulating the diversity and vitality of the sector,” he adds with conviction.
A restructuring of the CCM focused on international export
The new provisions of the legislation seem to have found a favorable response among professionals. According to Mohamed Khouna, “the law was welcomed with open arms by all production.” Since his appointment in January 2023, Abdelaziz Bouzdaini, director of the Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM), has given himself the mission of profoundly reorganizing the institution. It aims to turn the page on practices deemed opaque and to establish management more oriented towards transparency and performance.
By multiplying foreign meetings and partnerships, Bouzdaini reflects a strategic change: the export of Moroccan cinema. As an active representative at major festivals such as Cannes, the Venice Film Festival or the Annecy Festival, he seeks to position national productions on international markets, an essential ambition for the industry.
However, structural obstacles remain, as Mohamed Khouna points out: “When you have a Moroccan film financed, the real problem is the lack of support equivalent to that of other countries.” Indeed, beyond CCM subsidies and producers’ own funds, resources are limited. “Internationally, particularly in France, a film follows a consistent route: theatrical distribution, VOD platforms, television channels… This circuit guarantees its longevity. In Morocco, due to lack of a media chronology and appropriate financing, a film can disappear after its theatrical release.
Export then becomes a crucial issue. “Access to foreign circuits is essential to promote our works,” adds Khouna. This challenge, combined with the ambitions displayed by Bouzdaini, reflects a pivotal moment for Moroccan cinema: that of its reinvention and its influence beyond borders.
This ambitious reform, embodied by Bill No. 18.23, offers the Moroccan film industry a renovated framework, capable of stimulating the competitiveness, diversity and attractiveness of the sector. While challenges remain, particularly in terms of financing and distribution of national films, the impact of these new provisions is already being felt. They give hope to local actors, while positioning Moroccan cinema on the international scene. The path still remains strewn with pitfalls, but this reorganization of the sector undoubtedly marks a decisive turning point for the future of film production in Morocco.
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