PHOTO: Eid al Kbir in Fez

I’d never experienced Eid al Adha (al Kbir) in Fez until this Fall. Going through a pile of 35mm photos I recently processed, I realize I have to share this shot. At place Saffarine, young men burn the heads of sacraficial sheep to remove the hairs. The heads will be cooked in a double boiler and eaten for breakfast the day after the sacrafice. I had the opportunity to try some at my neighbors’ house and was delighted by the tender, perfectly spiced meat.

So though this photo is a little late, Eid Mubarak Saïd and happy new year to my Muslim friends!

FEZ: New kickstarter video for “Hidden Rivers”

Here’s some quick self-promotion (hey, thats what the internet is for, isn’t it?) for my doc project in Fez. The new video, in HD, is a bit more reflective than the last and offers some cool images from the feast day of Moulay Idriss. Notice how close I was to the bull!

Keep up with the project at http://fezfilm.wordpress.com, and donate on Kickstarter.

les eaux cachées (hidden waters) – my latest from fez

Hello all,

Sure has been awhile since the Fez Festival, but I’m pleased to announce that I’m back in Fez starting pre-production for my latest doc “les eaux cachées” on the ancient water system in Fez, water’s commodification, and some illuminating urban planning initiatives aimed at cleaning up the rivers of this wondrous city. It is wondrous too.

The video above is for our fundraiser at Kickstarter, which you can check out and donate to HERE. Also check out the film’s blog at http://fezfilm.wordpress.com for updates on the pre-production research, behind the scenes stuff, and other stories from Fez.

That being said, I’ll be spending a lot more time on the fezfilm blog, but will try to keep posting here (where I actually get a trickle of traffic to match the trickle of water heard under the streets of Fez at night). Thanks for reading and sharing. Lets make this a good one!

VIDEO: Abd al Malik at Fez Festival of World Sacred Music

French rapper and slammer Abd al-Malik performed at Bab al-Makina (the gates to the Moroccan royal palace in Fez) Wednesday during the Festival de Fes des Musiques Sacrées du Monde. An adherent of Morocco’s largest and most influential sufi brotherhood, that of Sidi Hamza al Qâdiri al Boutchichi, he gave an energetic and emotional performance before a crowd of mostly Moroccan elites and foreign guests.

AMERICA: Before tapping the keg at your “Bin Laden is dead party,” pre-game with a reality check.

Dear Americans,

Hate to be a buzzkill. But the death you are celebrating (which is kind of disturbing as it is ) and calling the “success” of the US operation in Pakistan/Afghanistan took nearly ten years, hundreds of thousands (probably over million) of worthy American, European, Afghani, Pakistani, Iraqi and other lives, decieved us all, cost a fucking UNGODLY amount of borrowed money (that could have built schools, fed people, supported social and technological innovation, or simply not indebted us to, among others, the Wahhabi oil machine that schooled Bin Laden) and acheived very little – perhaps nothing at all – towards the advancement of mankind. Makes one wonder whether or not that was ever the point. Just saying… before this turns into a beersoaked flagfest, think about what one dead carcass is worth in terms of human advancement and get back to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Joe.

P.S. Coming soon: Summer in Paris to reflect on the Arab Spring, The Fez Festival of World Sacred Music edition 2011, the filmmaking process in Fez during my Fulbright grant year.