On this occasion, the stele of the new audiovisual room was unveiled Wednesday in the presence of a range of figures and personalities from the world of culture and media, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to Rabat.
The inauguration ceremony was marked by a series of testimonies around the values and legacy of the late Saïl, including a speech by Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid.
Through the late Noureddine Saïl “the spirit of the Enlightenment has continued to illuminate our country and even more, for his commitment, for his greatness of spirit and for the independence of his thought, it is natural today to salute his memory in the heart of an institution bearing the name of Rene Descartes”, said the minister in this speech read on his behalf by Mustapha Taimi, secretary general of the Department of Communication.
“Figure of our time, the late Nour-Eddine Saïl is also a figure of another time, a convinced modernist, an inveterate patriot who made the cinema his personal cause and his greatest struggle,” the Minister added.
In a statement to M24, MAP’s 24-hour news channel, Nadia Larguet, widow of the late Saïl, shared her great pride in the tribute paid to her late husband, a man who was as much French as he was Moroccan and as much Moroccan as he was French who loved freedom.
“We are extremely proud. (…) I think it is a beautiful recognition to those who have given enormously to this country whether in the cinema, television and culture in general,” she said, on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony.
For her part, the Ambassador of France in Morocco, Ms. Helene Le Gal said she was delighted to have participated in the inauguration of the room Nour-Eddine Saïl, paying a very strong tribute to the deceased.
It is a space for young students who are interested in the audiovisual professions. “I think that for them, having a room named after Nour-Eddine Saïl will be an inspiration,” she said, adding that the late Saïl has “enlightened Morocco in 2,000 ways by his thoughts, his films and his actions in favor of Moroccan cinema.
For her part, the Ambassador of France to Morocco, Helene Le Gal said she was delighted to have participated in the inauguration of the room Nour-Eddine Saïl, paying a very strong tribute to the deceased.
It is a space for young students who are interested in the audiovisual professions. “I think that for them, having a room that bears the name of Nour-Eddine Saïl will be an inspiration,” she said, adding that the late Saïl has “enlightened Morocco in 2,000 ways by his thinking, his films and his actions in favor of Moroccan cinema.
This inauguration is also “an opportunity to say how deep the cultural relations between Morocco and France are and affect all sectors,” added the diplomat, saying she was “very happy to see that this culture brings us together”.
The principal of Lycée Descartes, Najat Delpeyrat, noted that the inauguration of a room named after Nour-Eddine Sail was “an obvious choice”. “For us it was an obvious choice. There is a working group that was formed to make a list of personalities both Moroccan and French to symbolize the values we want to transmit to our students … the name of Nour-Eddine Saïl has imposed itself naturally,” she said, adding that the new room is dedicated to students of the film and audiovisual section of the Descartes which is one of the “few institutions to offer the audiovisual as a specialty course”.
Naming the audiovisual room of the Lycée Descartes after Nour-Eddine Saïl is part of a project of the institution to rename all its rooms so that they bear the names of Moroccan personalities, instead of names of former French staff of the school.
This project, validated by the School Council in November 2021, reflects the dual Moroccan-French culture and the cultural, artistic, scientific and academic wealth of both countries.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse