--- title: Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days | TIME description: Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days canonical: https://time.com/video/WVNXgKVV/ og:title: Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days og:description: Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days og:url: https://time.com/video/WVNXgKVV/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/WVNXgKVV/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days twitter:description: Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/WVNXgKVV/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days [Watch (HLS stream): Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WVNXgKVV.m3u8) (2:16)  _Published 2014-04-02. Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days_ --- Jul 27, 2023 4:21 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [The Bodies of 2 Scandinavian Women Were Found in Morocco](/video/yroX8Zfw/) ### The Bodies of 2 Scandinavian Women Were Found in Morocco [Oscars 2015: 'Glory' Performance](/video/zPWQv29H/) ### Oscars 2015: 'Glory' Performance [Hagel Orders 21 Day Ebola Quarantine for Returning U.S. Troops](/video/RYH81xJF/) ### Hagel Orders 21 Day Ebola Quarantine for Returning U.S. Troops --- ## Transcript It's all quiet on set, actors, make- up artists and stage hands are preparing for the next scene. Atlas studio in the southern Moroccan city of [ FOREIGN ], can look all too familiar. It's in these stunning desert landscapes that are raft of movie blockbusters such as Laurence of Arabia, Gladiator and Babel were filmed. But in recent years, fewer and fewer production companies have come calling leaving film crews and extras with little to do. [ FOREIGN ] From 1986 until 2009 cinema production was very present here in [ INAUDIBLE ], but from 2009 until 2012 there has been very little work for us. [ FOREIGN ] The global economic crisis put many projects on hold and the turmoil of the Arab Spring across the region pushed international filmmakers to look elsewhere. Many of the sets remain, visited by tourists and maintained by the locals as a sort of museum of movie making. [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] We took responsibility for the sets on this plateau about 16 to 18 years ago. We have two site keepers a day, and one for the evening and we are able to pay the salaries when a new film production arrives to use this place. [ FOREIGN ] Many film backdrops are real- life places, historical sites or homes that are unique to the area Production companies negotiate with local leaders to shoot there, bringing in much- needed income for villagers. A big production company came here to film, they partially restored the places that they were interested in, paying the village 500 or 600 euros. [ FOREIGN ] The cash flow has been cut back to just a trickle, but locals are still hopeful that Owar Zazak can attract the big budget movies once again. Several major productions have visited since the beginning of the year. There are already four films in production here, and a starring role for this city would mean jobs for hundreds of people. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days","description":"Morocco's Movie 'Mecca' Seeks Return to Glory Days","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/WVNXgKVV/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-04-02T15:05:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WVNXgKVV.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/WVNXgKVV/","duration":"PT2M16S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/WVNXgKVV/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```