How the locals do it in Morocco!

Couscous Swell – A full length film that explores the land of rights and its surfers in Morocco.

Morocco is the land of right hand point breaks, so you would think that the best surfers coming out of there would be natural footers tearing down the line doing big carves and flying through the air. This is true in some sense, but it is the goofy attack of pioneer Abdel El Harim, as well as the world class backhands of Aboubakar Bouaouda and Ramzi Boukhaim (also goofy), that have led the charge of Moroccan surfers in recent times and are undoubtedly a big part of its future.

The last few winters, filmmaker Rayane Hatimi and producer Hamza Bennani embarked on a quest to document the Moroccan surfing scene, featuring the above surfers and many more. Born and raised in Morocco and surfing there since a child, it had been a long time dream of Hatimi’s to pay tribute to the country’s beautiful waves and amazing surfers. He really wanted to offer some well-deserved exposure to some talented surfers and share their stories with the world. The result is a 40-minute documentary called Couscous Swell, and you can watch it for FREE here: www.couscousswell.com

The film mainly follows the story of Aboubakar Bouaouda, a rising talent from the small village of Dar Bouazza, south of Casablanca. Aboubakar lost both of his parents at a very young age, and he was basically saved by the ocean and surfing. “The kid has something, his style is unique and his story is a true reminder of what surfing can do to a human. We absolutely had to share his story with the world”, says Hatimi. The movie also features some amazing local talent, as well as some Australian surfing legends in Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning.

The film is a must watch, leaving you hoping you can get to Morocco for a surf trip sometime soon.

 

All photo/film credit: @rayanehat @beach_ratz 

Edited: Sam Shearer