Aziz Tazi
| Aziz Tazi | |
|---|---|
 Director Aziz Tazi at Night Walk Special Screening.jpg Aziz Tazi at the 2021 Night Walk Premiere in Los Angeles, CA | |
| Born | November 29, 1990 Casablanca, Morocco |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Moroccan |
| 🏫 Education | University of California, Berkeley, Ecole Centrale Paris |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| 📆 Years active | 2004–present |
Aziz Tazi (born November 29, 1990) is a Moroccan-born LA-based film writer, director and producer featured in Forbes Africa's "30 Under 30".[1]
Tazi made his directorial debut with the feature film Night Walk, shot between Los Angeles and Morocco. The crime drama was acquired by Lionsgate and is the first Moroccan film in history to get Hollywood distribution.[2] Night Walk stars Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts. Prior to Night Walk, Tazi’s short film Imago opened the Arab Film Festival in 2013. His documentary Arab Stories aired on PBS in 2014. Tazi has also directed music videos for artists like French rapper La Fouine. [3]
Career[edit]
Aziz Tazi is the first Moroccan-born film director in history to make a Hollywood distributed film. [4] Night Walk is his directorial debut. It had its World Premiere at the Moscow International Film Festival in April 2019. [5] Later that year, Tazi won the "Best Screenplay" award at the Prague Independent Film Festival. [6]
Prior to that, in 2011, Tazi was selected by his student TV organization to direct a documentary short called "Emilie" about Emilie Le Pennec. The short won the "Orange Reporter" Award for Highest Achievement in Creativity. [7] In 2012, he received funding from his engineering school Ecole Centrale Paris and French bank BNP Paribas to direct and produce his first narrative short Imago. This psychological thriller was screened at international film festivals and opened the Arab Film Festival in Los Angeles in 2013. [8] Tazi attended the University of California at Berkeley in 2013 and made a documentary about successful Arab leaders in the U.S. called "Arab Stories: Bay Area," which aired nationwide on PBS.[1]
After a year of working as a creative director for the Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology, spearheading an effort to make UC Berkeley's entrepreneurship education available online, he moved to Los Angeles where he became the festival manager of the Arab Film Festival. He made the cover of Morocco's highly-acclaimed "Challenge" magazine [9]
While there, he also worked on his first feature film Night Walk.[7]. In 2019, during an interview of Mickey Rourke on national British TV with Piers Morgan (Good Morning Britain), the actor spoke highly of his experience working with director Aziz Tazi praising "the enthusiasm of this guy who was only 28" and saying about Tazi: “he wasn't terrified to work with me, he was just very excited to work with me."[10]
Early life[edit]
Aziz Tazi grew up in Casablanca, Morocco where he developed an interest in creating video game movies. At 14, he used Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects, along with 3D Studio Max to create 15-min short videos based on the popular game Counter-Strike. The videos went viral and some were awarded "Best Visual Effects" and "Most Innovative" by a popular gaming website after he turned 15.[11]
At age 17, Tazi moved to France and worked with Denis Freyd on Les Cinq Parties du Monde directed by Gerard Mordillat. [7] Eventually, Tazi settled in California after graduating with two Masters of Science from Ecole Centrale Paris and UC Berkeley.[7]
Accolades[edit]
In 2013, Tazi was voted "Top 50 Men of the Year 2013" by VH Magazine, next to prominent Moroccan politicians and businessmen. [12]
Tazi was also featured on Forbes Africa's "30 Under 30" in 2016 as a leading change-maker under 30 years old.[1]
In 2021, Spectrum News aired a 2-min segment on Tazi’s work as a director challenging the stereotypes around the Arab and Muslim community in the West. [13]
Filmography[edit]
Features[edit]
- Night Walk (2021)
Shorts[edit]
- "Emilie" (2011)
- "Imago" (2013)
- "Arab Stories" (2014)
- "The Passing" (2014)
Music videos[edit]
- "Stop" by Imad Kotbi featuring Ryan McTogy (2017)
- "Love & Devotion" by Imad Kotbi featuring Ryan McTogy (2017)
- "African Queen" by La Fouine (2018)
- "Daqqat Qelbi" (My Heartbeat) by Ghita Lahmamssi (2019)
Awards and nominations[edit]
| Year | Award | Nominated Work | Category | Role | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Orange Reporter | Emilie | Highest Achievement in Creativity | Director/Producer | Won[7] |
| 2013 | Arab Film Festival | Imago | Festival Prize | Writer/Director/Producer | Nominated[8] |
| 2019 | Moscow International Film Festival | Night Walk | Audience Award | Writer/Director/Producer | Nominated[5] |
| 2019 | Prague Independent Film Festival | Night Walk | Best Screenplay | Director/Producer | Won[6] |
| 2019 | Prague Independent Film Festival | Night Walk | Best Director | Writer/Director/Producer | Nominated[6] |
| 2019 | Prague Independent Film Festival | Night Walk | Golden Eagle / Grand Prix | Director/Producer | Nominated[6] |
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dardar, Jihad (2020-07-18). "Moroccan Filmmaker Aziz Tazi on His Rise to Hollywood Fame". Morocco World News. Rabat, Morocco. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
- ↑ Mounafia, Mohammed (2018-05-11). "عزيز التازي..أول مخرج مغربي يقتحم هوليود من خلال عمله "نايت وولك"" [Aziz Tazi, the first Moroccan director to break into Hollywood with his film “Night Walk”]. Al Ayam 24 (in Arabic). Casablanca, Morocco. Retrieved 2021-08-07.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ El Abbassi, Noredine (2013-12-13). "Aziz Tazi, Réalisateur, Ingénieur de l'Ecole Centrale" [Aziz Tazi, filmmaker, engineer with an Ecole Centrale degree]. Challenge (in French). Casablanca, Morocco.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ Kahi, Jamila (2018-05-25). "عزيز التازي..أول مخرج مغربي يقتحم هوليود من خلال "نايت وولك"" [Aziz Tazi, the first Moroccan director to conquer Hollywood with “Night Walk”]. Lalla Fatima (in Arabic). Casablanca, Morocco. Retrieved 2021-08-07.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Karpyuk, Dmitry (2019-04-25). "Крестоносцы, призраки, мальчики-автоматчики и Микки Рурк: 6 занятных жанровых фильмов 41-го ММКФ" [Crusaders, ghosts, submachine gunners and Mickey Rourke: 6 entertaining genre films from the 41st MIFF]. Kinoreporter (in Russian). Moscow. Retrieved 2021-08-07.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Ramsay, Angela (2019-08-10). "'M' 'NIGHT WALK' Among Winners of 2019 Prague Independent Film Festival". Vimooz. New York, NY. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Sefraoui, Nadia (2013-08-02). "Aziz Tazi, un Marocain à la conquête de Hollywood" [Aziz Tazi, a Moroccan on the quest of Hollywood]. VH Magazine (in French). Casablanca.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Nelson, Brianna (2013-10-09). "AFF2013 - Program of The Nation's Oldest and Largest Festival of Arab Films". Arab Film Festival. Los Angeles, CA.
- ↑ El Abbassi, Noredine (2013-12-13). "Challenge - L'hebdo marocain des décideurs" [Challenge - The Moroccan weekly for decision-makers]. Challenge (in French). Casablanca.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ Morgan, Piers (host) (2019-09-02). "Good Morning Britain". Interview with Mickey Rourke. iTV.
- ↑ Dendoune, Nadir (2015-12-31). "Aziz Tazi, ce réalisateur marocain qui veut changer l'image des Arabes à Hollywood" [Aziz Tazi, the Moroccan director who wants to change the representation of Arabs in Hollywood]. Le Courrier de l'Atlas (in French). Paris. Retrieved 2021-08-09.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ Najib, Abdelhak (2014-02-01). "VH Magazine - Les Hommes de l'Année 2013" [VH magazine - The Men of the Year 2013]. Version Homme Magazine (in French). Casablanca.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
- ↑ Ayyoub, Loureen (2021-05-10). "Filmmaker dispels Muslim stereotypes with movie 'Night Walk'". Spectrum News 1. Los Angeles,CA. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
External links[edit]
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