Synopsis

In Jajouka, a village nestled in Morocco’s Rif mountains, magic rites accompanied by a peculiar music performed by “the Master Musicians of Jajouka” (a brotherhood of musicians) are commonplace. Acclaimed musicians Eric and Marc Hurtado, founders of the group Etant Donnés, explore these rituals and legends in fascinating complicity with the master musicians and other villagers of Jajouka. Weaving documentary and fiction, the Hurtados eschew an investigation of the healing power and spiritual transcendence of Jajouka; instead, they have created a film so riveting and poetic that it transposes the experience of trance and emotional release onto the viewer. In Arabic, French; English subtitles. 59 min.