Moroccan director Ayoub Qanir has unveiled the trailer for his new feature film, “The Black Pearl”. An epic adventure film, this cinematographic opus combines action, mythology and exploration, while depicting “the spectacular universe of a sublimated Morocco”. The work is thus intended to be “ambitious”, announcing “a project of Hollywood dimensions, while celebrating the cultural and visual wealth” of the country, says a press release sent to Yabiladi.
It is in fact a project “matured for years” and thought about by the director “more than ten years ago”. “Inspired by action cinema classics such as In Pursuit of the Green Diamond, Back to the Future or Top Gun, Qanir wanted to create a work that combines this cinematographic ambition with Moroccan cultural wealth,” indicates the same source. In this sense, the author’s bias was to highlight “the impressive diversity of landscapes” at the heart of the visual aesthetic of the film, from the Atlas Mountains to the dunes of the Sahara.
According to Ayoub Qanir, “this film tells the story of a young man, Salah, who struggles to change his destiny in an adventure where courage, discovery and mystery intertwine.” “We wanted to offer the Moroccan public a new genre: a great adventure in spectacular settings,” explains the director, who is keen to “raise the standards of Moroccan cinema with cutting-edge cinematographic techniques and equipment.”
In the film, Salah is a young mechanical engineer who dreams of joining the Moroccan air force, as an aviator officer. After failing a decisive test, he waits for a second chance. However, he finds himself at the center of a journey to protect Venus, an ancient tablet which reveals the location of the first meteorite to fall on Earth. With the mission to save the village from his allies and “all humanity”, the protagonist will arm himself with courage to face an international criminal organization.
With his new opus, the director promises a work that can serve as a “reference for adventure cinema, while celebrating Moroccan culture and talent.”
