Spain / 2013 / 54mins / Documentary / Amazigh and Spanish

This film intends to explore the phenomenon of maraboutism in the Rif, an area in the north of Morocco. This practice of venerating saints, which was historically common throughout the whole of North Africa, has great cultural importance even today. The shrines or marabouts are the object of many popular religious beliefs. The Rif boasts a great diversity of cults and shows how the ancient ancestral beliefs of the Amazigh people coexist alongside Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam.

Sonia Gamez

Sonia Gamez studied history in Spain and began her career as a researcher at the Institute of Mediterranean Culture. She is currently a lecturer in art history and history at the UNED. Her present work focuses on the Amazigh cultural heritage. After studying Maraboutism in northern Morocco, she made her first documentary film on the topic of this popular religious tradition in the Rif. Ziara is the culmination of her research and was screened at several film festivals in Spain as well as Austria. At present, she is at work on a new project on Sufism in Morocco, specifically about a controversial brotherhood known as the Aissawa. Learn More