Mohammed & Paul - Once upon a time in Tangier

The Netherlands2025documentary93'Personalities

In the 1960s, Paul Bowles, while living in Tangier, transcribed, edited and translated the stories of illiterate Mohammed Mrabet, from which he later profited. The author of the acclaimed novel ‘The Sheltering Sky’ and the young Moroccan storyteller were bound by an ambiguous and unequal relationship. Today, the elderly Moroccan feels exploited by the American writer. Conversations with Mohammed and witnesses to the events shed light on the nature of this acquaintance. They also reveal another story – one of cultural stereotypes and colonial dependencies.