Moroccan city and Hollywood project twinning

Moroccan southern city of Ouarzazate and Hollywood are projecting a twinning act and the creation of a Moroccan-US company of cinema producers, US producer Branko Lustig announced.

Lustig who has just ended shooting his mega movie "Kingdom of Heaven" told a meeting with local officials and film producers in the Moroccan city the project will open new perspectives for the development of the motion picture in Morocco and new economic and social projects.

He also expressed satisfaction at the shooting of his movie in the Moroccan city studios and praised as "promising" the construction of studios in the city by Dino de Laurentiis and associates. He said the studios will increase the city's attractivity as a location for mega productions from all over the world.

However, he noted, the city, known among professionals as "Hollywood at the gates of the desert" suffers from a lack of skills, weak air links and poor promotion within international specialized fairs.

He said the city needs to have more hotels and restaurants, improve the quality of tourism services, promote the training of cinema professionals and create additional centers like the Euro-Mediterranean center of training in cinema and audiovisual crafts.

He also stressed the need to create specialized film commissions.

Kingdom of Heaven, directed by Ridley Scott, stars Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons. It tells the story of a young blacksmith, Balian of Ibelin, who leads the people of Jerusalem in defense against the Crusaders during the Crusades of the 12th Century.