During a workshop on the theme: "Cinematographic production, exploitation, and distribution", organised as part of the Tangier National Film Festival, the various actors of the national cinema noted an imbalance between the public's expectations and the films presented.

"Moroccan films no longer attract the public like before". This is the observation made during a workshop on "Cinematographic production, exploitation, and distribution" organised on the occasion of the 17th edition of the Tangier National Film Festival. According to Hassan Belkady, owner of cinemas in Casablanca, Moroccan films performed better before. "Today, despite a significant quantitative offer, cinema does not meet the public's expectations. I have never seen people leaving cinemas like this year. The cinemas are no longer profitable, because we are faced with a lack of quality," he explained. Despite the multiplication of Moroccan productions, national cinema is facing a sad state of affairs, particularly on the side of cinema owners.

The latter's revenues did not exceed 40 million dirhams in 2015. Today, returns are limited to about 1.2 million DH per cinema. A figure that does not meet the expectations and obligations of professionals. "Enthusiasts do not live from cinema," explains Belkady. In order to stay the course and resist decay, this lover of the seventh art is trying the experience of presenting Moscow ballet shows in his cinema. Nevertheless, he does not deny the importance of restoring the public's confidence in national film: "Spectators are increasingly disappointed. They want to laugh, to dream, and to be carried away, all of which we no longer see."

If Hassan Belkady points the finger at the quality of national productions, the distributor Najib Benkirane speaks of an imbalance between supply and demand: "Moroccan films have acquired technical maturity, one of the main marketing criteria, but the themes developed do not follow." For him, the feature films that are currently working are those of B-series, purely comedic. Auteur films or those that develop theses are not well followed. "I presented films awarded in festivals that did not last more than a week," he confirmed.

Same tune from El Alami Khallouqi, central director of production and programmes at the National Society of Radio and Television (SNRT): "The public is less cinephile. The most applauded films are the least technically performing." National cinema is thus facing a real dilemma: satisfy the public or the film creators. "We had this debate on the quality of films we want within the chamber of producers. For us, it is about raising the existing level in all genres so that the films are distributed in cinemas, but also so that they travel internationally, participate in festivals, and are also screened in cinemas," specifies the producer, Khalid Zaïri. The participants in this workshop also debated the cooperation between cinema and television. For the SNRT as well as for 2M, cinema and audiovisual must "be the same body". This alternative makes it possible to support national cinematographic production without making low-end products. Despite some delays in the delivery of films and even if it is said that television channels multiply profits thanks to reruns, TV movies remain a good way to bring the Moroccan public closer to its cinema and allow the promotion of national cinematographic and audiovisual production.