Director: Rosa Rogers
Rosa began her film making career making short experimental dance and poetry films for Channel 4 which won prizes at festivals around the world. She was drawn to the world of documentaries and over the past few years has directed many short documentaries for leading UK broadcasters which have been shown across several continents. Prize winning films include: The Greatest Show on Earth, the story of a deaf dancer who performs in the Rio Carnival; Dragon People, a young photographer’s journey through modern China; and Back to Bombay in which a British Indian woman travels to India to meet her family for the first time. She has twice been a finalist in the One World Media Awards. Casablanca Calling is her first feature documentary, following the work of Morocco’s new generation of female Muslim leaders. Rosa is currently editing her second feature documentary, Pirates of Salé, which tells the story of the transformation of a group of disadvantaged young people in Morocco into world-class contemporary circus artists.
Producer: Hilary Durman
Hilary Durman is a director of award-winning indie Redbird. She has won three BAFTAs for dramas including Oddsquad by John Godber and Dream On by Ray Harrison Graham.
Hilary has produced documentaries for BBC and Channel 4 on many different subjects – Without You focused on young people coping with bereavement, Picture of Hull explored the work of playwright John Godber and The Greatest Show on Earth followed a deaf woman’s journey to dance in Rio Carnival. She was Executive Producer of New Shoots and The Shooting Party, Channel 4’s debut documentary series for disabled directors.
In 2009, she produced The Time of Their Lives for BBC Storyville and the UK Film Council. Her second feature documentary was Donor Unknown, a Redbird and Met Film co-production, directed by Jerry Rothwell. Alongside Casablanca Calling, she is currently producing Pirates of Salé, a documentary about Morocco’s first professional circus school, and Special, a drama documentary made with and about young people with learning disabilities.
Associate Producer: Merieme Addou
Born in Morocco, Merieme Addou graduated from Mohammed V University with a degree in Law. She lives and works in Rabat as freelance correspondent for Radio D-W. She is also a Producer for Camino Media, a Moroccan production company based in Rabat. From 2005 - 2008, Merieme worked as assistant to the BBC correspondent in Morocco. Her role included research, setting up interviews, finding and advising on stories, interpreting and translating. She has worked as a correspondent for Kuwait TV and as an AP for Al Jazeera International. She has also acted as a freelance Producer for ADTV, Qatar TV, BBC 2, Radio 4, Time Magazine, the Financial Times, BBC World, SABC, National Geographic Magazine, Fox News, CNN, and Bloomberg. She has produced a documentary for Moroccan national television about Orson Welles and his relationship with the city of Essouaira, and a series of programmes about Moroccan women in history. She is currently studying for a post-graduate degree in Documentary Film.