Imagine The Trial by Franz Kafka meets The Grand Budapest Hotel—but set in a luxury café in 1956 Morocco.

Chafik, a young Moroccan ONCF executive, just received a large work bonus. He wants to win back his ex-wife Layla with a romantic dinner at the Ritz, his favorite café.

But when they arrive at their reserved table, they find a gun and a French colonial police hat sitting on it.

The table belongs to a drunken French general who leaves his belongings to "save" his seat while he wanders the city. No one dares to move them.

What follows is a night of absurd humiliation, desperate rebellion, and an explosive confrontation with colonialism, hypocrisy, and the lies we tell ourselves to survive.

Rendez-vous au Ritz is a 25-minute short film by a team of passionate Moroccan filmmakers from ESAV Marrakech. It's a dark comedy about a man who tries so hard to be French that he forgets who he is—and pays the ultimate price.

I wrote this film because I'm tired of the silence.

I'm tired of how we—as everyday people—accept being degraded and humiliated simply because someone is "above" us in hierarchy, social class, or political status. I'm tired of how we sacrifice our dignity because we're afraid of "not following the rules."

This film is personal.

It started in a café in Gueliz, Marrakech, where my father and I were kicked off a table that was empty except for a single cup. A Police man had left it there to "save" his place. No one dared to challenge it. We had to accept it.

That moment of helplessness—and the frustration I feel every time I deal with an administrative system that strips away human decency—is what drove me to write this film.

Rendez-vous au Ritz is my attempt to hold up a mirror.

It's a film about how we become complicit in the systems that oppress us. It's about how we only revolt when our own interests are threatened. It's about how we enable evil in exchange for comfort.

And it's a cautionary tale: eventually, you get eaten alive by the evils you enable.

But this film is not just about pain. It's about laughter, too.

It's an absurdist comedy that invites you to laugh at the chaos—and then, in the silence after the laughter, to say to yourself: "Hey that’s not really fair ! "

This is a film by Moroccans, for Moroccans.

We deserve to tell our own stories. We deserve to see our complicated, painful history through our own eyes—not through orientalist tales filtered through foreign lenses.

Rendez-vous au Ritz is my attempt to give this history an absurd revival. So we can laugh, reflect, and finally move forward.

The Team Behind the Project :
Director & Writer: Mohamed Nizar EL BOUZIANI

Production Team: A collective of passionate filmmakers from ESAV Marrakech

Our entire technical team is composed of classmates and friends from ESAV Marrakech. We've worked together on countless projects—not just mine, but each other's. We are a creative collective with the patience and technical prowess to make ambitious independent films.

Our mission: To establish more absurd, satirical voices in Moroccan cinema. To tell stories that are bold, uncomfortable, and honest. To push the boundaries of what Moroccan film can be.

How Your Money Will Be Used

Campaign Goal: 9,000 MAD (approximately €830 / $900)

Location & Set : (The Ritz café—we're building it ourselves on the ESAV plateau)3,000 MAD
Costumes & Props : (1956 period + intentional anachronisms)3,000 MAD
Catering & Transport : (Feeding and moving our team of 14 actors and crew during the shoot)2,000 MAD
Short Film Festival Submissions : (International & Moroccan festivals)700 MAD
Platform Fees & Buffer : 300 MAD

Note: Cast, crew, equipment, and post-production are all being generously provided for free by our passionate ESAV team. Every dirham you donate goes directly to the physical production of the film.

Every single backer — no matter their tier —will have their names in the film’s credits as “executive producers” this is our way of thanking you all for being part of this journey.

Why You Should Back This Project

Because this film matters.

It matters to me. It matters to my team. And I believe it will matter to you.

Rendez-vous au Ritz is more than a short film. It's a mirror held up to our collective complacency. It's a cautionary tale about the price we pay when we stay silent. It's a comedy—and a tragedy—about a man who tries so hard to be French that he forgets who he is.

We're not making this film for awards or fame. We're making it because this story needs to be told. Because Moroccans deserve to see their own complicated history through their own eyes. Because laughter and self-reflection are the first steps toward healing.

With your support no matter it's grandeur you become part of this journey. You become part of a film that dares to be uncomfortable, honest, and deeply Moroccan.

"I wrote this film because I believe in the power of absurdity. I believe that sometimes, the only way to confront the darkest parts of our history—and ourselves—is through laughter. Not to dismiss the pain, but to survive it. To look at the chaos and say, 'Yes, I see this. And I refuse to look away.'

Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading. And thank you, in advance, for being part of this journey.

Let's make something unforgettable together."

— Mohamed Nizar EL BOUZIANI