M'Hamid Oasis Morocco, a film documenting the restoration and recording project by the University of Liverpool's ArCHIAM Centre on the fringes of the Sahara, was the 2021 winner at the Golden Bridge Istanbul Short Film Festival in the Best Cinematography category.
The festival gathers emerging talent from Turkey and around the world, giving visibility to independent projects, particularly low or no budget and traditionally underrepresented in the global film industry.
Monika Koeck, film director, editor and producer, said: "I am delighted and honoured that our film M'Hamid Oasis Morocco has won the Golden Bridge Istanbul Short Film Festival Award in the Best Cinematography category, selected by an academic jury from 477 international submissions, all peer-reviewed.
I was fortunate to be approached by Dr Giamila Quattrone and the ArCHIAM team, world-class researchers from our university, to be involved in this project in such a remote place in southern Morocco. Given the location, the Sahara, the film work was challenging, but so rewarding.
My gratitude goes to the funders of the film, the University of Liverpool and the Barakat Trust, as well as to our partner, the Spanish NGO Terrachidia, and, most importantly, to all the people of M'Hamid Oasis who welcomed us into their world and lives."
"This award", said Dr Giamila Quattrone, Principal Investigator of the project and Digital Heritage Sub-Theme Lead, "comes after a series of prestigious international accolades that are a recognition not only of Monika's talent but also of the importance and timeliness of this project. More than 2,500 film views worldwide and the film's inclusion in the February 2021 episode of the Archaeology Channel's Strata Portraits of Humanity", distributed in USA over many TV channels with a potential viewing audience of millions people, are testimony to the global reach our work has attained so far.
"Through the film and the publication Ouled Youssef. An Old Ksar in the M'Hamid Oasis our aim is to highlight the rich material and immaterial heritage of this place to as wide and diverse an audience as possible, and generate awareness of its cultural significance and struggle to survive desertification, sand dunes encroachment and abandonment.
"We trust that, after watching the documentary and reading the book, more people will be encouraged to visit M'Hamid in the future, thus helping the local economy. We hope that government bodies, public and private organizations will realise the oasis' tourism potential and support the implementation of sustainable, community-led heritage development initiatives that can reactivate the deserted settlements and generate jobs, the only effective deterrent against out-migration."
