Under the spell of horses - Morocco

Once a year the royal city of Meknes is transformed into an oriental military-style camp. The arena right in front of the city wall is flanked by large team tents at the sides, decorated halls made of ivory-coloured canvas or Bedouin-style black felt. Two thousand curious onlookers gather round the square. More than five hundred riders are expected to take part in this major Fantasia, a warlike display of horsemanship. In full regalia the first riders gather at the starting line on their gold and sequined-covered horses. They wear their white jelabas, turban-like headwear and long muskets with silver fittings with pride. Both horses and riders are extremely nervous. The starting shot is about to be fired. 56-year old Lachsen Slimani is also obsessed with riding games. He is the leader of a Fantasia group and lives with his family on a remote highland plateau in the Middle Atlas. Lachsen is proud because his 18-year old son Mohammed is an enthusiastic rider and wants to follow in his father’s footsteps. With the Fantasias the Berbers are celebrating a tradition that goes back more than two thousand years, for this is how they once crossed the Alps with Hannibal and charged at their Islamic invaders. The film is part of the series “Under the Spell of Horses”. It contains spectacular images from one of these Fantasias and documents the life of a Berber family. The Slimani family has two horses: a workhorse and a high-class Fantasia stallion. It is the family’s pride and joy. Most farmers can only afford one riding horse, if at all. In a country as dry as Morocco green fodder is expensive - indeed, it takes as much to keep one horse as it does to keep a whole family. But the horse is still considered part of the family by the Slimanis. More than anything else Mohammed wants to ride at a Fantasia with his father. For that he needs his own horse, so the tradition goes. Lachsen wants to fulfil this dream for his son. So, in order to get the money together for the horse, he takes off on an adventure. He decides to travel to Quarzazate to visit a friend. Quarzazate, which is also called the Hollywood of the desert, attracts Moroccans from all over the country hoping to be discovered as actors or at least to get work as an extra, as a horseback bandit, Bedouin or harem guard. Director Lisa Eder and her team accompany Lachsen as he makes his way through the mountainous terrain of the Middle Atlas to the outskirts of the desert. It is the only way Lachsen will be able to make his and his son’s dream come true, of riding together at a fantasia in the royal city of Meknes....