Atlas Studios in Ouarzazate is the largest film studio in Africa by area. Founded in 1983, it covers over 30 hectares of desert terrain adjacent to the kasbahs of the Draa Valley. The landscape provides what no soundstage can — real mountains, real desert, real ancient architecture, and 300 days of sunshine per year.
The list of productions is staggering. Lawrence of Arabia filmed here in 1962. Gladiator in 2000. Kingdom of Heaven. The Mummy. Alexander. Babel. Game of Thrones used locations across Morocco — Aït Benhaddou as Yunkai, Essaouira as Astapor. Netflix, Amazon, and HBO have all shot in Morocco in recent years.
The economics are compelling. Moroccan labour is skilled and affordable. The government offers a 20% cash rebate on qualifying production expenditure. The Moroccan Centre Cinématographique provides location permits efficiently. And the infrastructure — hotels, transport, catering — has been built up over decades of hosting international productions.
CMS — Centre Cinématographique Studios — is the second major facility in Ouarzazate. Between the two studios, the town of 80,000 people hosts an industry that employs thousands of extras, craftsmen, drivers, and technicians. The irony is visible: a town in one of Morocco's poorest regions has become a global entertainment hub.
Moroccan cinema itself is growing. The Marrakech International Film Festival, founded by King Mohammed VI, brings global attention. Moroccan directors — Nabil Ayouch, Laila Marrakchi, Hicham Lasri — are winning international recognition. But the domestic industry operates on tiny budgets compared to the international productions that use Morocco as scenery.
The landscape is the star. The kasbahs, the desert, the Atlas passes — they are cinematic in a way that cannot be replicated digitally. Morocco does not need to build sets. It already has them.
The Ouarzazate road from Marrakech crosses the Tizi n'Tichka at 2,260 metres. We drive it slowly, because every bend is a different film set.
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The Facts
- —Atlas Studios, Ouarzazate: largest film studio in Africa
- —Gladiator (2000, 2024): both filmed in Morocco
- —Game of Thrones: 3 Moroccan locations
- —Lawrence of Arabia (1962): Ait Benhaddou
- —Casablanca (1942): zero frames shot in Morocco
- —CCM (Centre Cinématographique Marocain): national film body
- —Marrakech International Film Festival: founded 2001
- —Morocco offers 20% tax rebate on film production
Sources
- Carter, Sandra. "Moroccan Cinema." In Companion to African Cinema. Wiley-Blackwell
- Orlando, Valérie. Screening Morocco: Contemporary Film in a Changing Society. Ohio University Press, 2011
- Dwyer, Kevin. Beyond Casablanca: M.A. Tazi and the Adventure of Moroccan Cinema. Indiana University Press, 2004
