Taroudant- Mustapha Elkhalfi, Minister of Communication, said on Thursday in Rabat that the decision to ban the projection of Much Loved (Fik Zine Li) in Morocco serves to protect freedom of expression.
Speaking at the session of oral questions in the Chamber of Advisers, the minister said that his department made the decision to "protect freedom of expression, which absolutely does not mean freedom of absurdity and destruction in cinema.”
The minister added that banning the screening of "Much Loved" is implicitly refusing to grant the recommendation, endorsement or institutional recognition for this production, “as international charters stipulate that freedom of expression is governed by the law,” noting that the ministry has taken this legal decision after measuring the extent of damage this film would do to the image of Morocco.
Asked by the parliamentary group of the Popular Movement in the House of Advisors, the minister said that "the decision (to ban the film) was made under the law," while indicating that he had nothing "against art and freedom of expression."
Mustapha El Khalfi also indicated that the scenario presented by Nabil Ayouch in the design of the film and the one presented in the final version of the film are different.
El Khalfi said that the director of the Cinematographic Centre who saw the film was "surprised" to see that the scenario presented to receive the filming permit has nothing to do with the content of the film.
During his speech, Mustapha El Khalfi said that two films namely “Hate Crimes” and “The Apostle” were banned respectively in England and France for non-compliance with the law.
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