Screening in Helsinki of the documentary “The Call,” by Ahmed Bouchagla: An American Perspective on a Major Chapter in Moroccan History

Helsinki – The documentary film “The Call,” by Ahmed Bouchagla, premiered in Helsinki on Tuesday, marking the 51st anniversary of the glorious Green March and the first anniversary of Unity Day.

Organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Finland, the evening, which combined cinema, historical memory, and intercultural dialogue, brought together members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Finland and guests from cultural and community organizations.

Offering an American perspective on a major chapter in Moroccan history, the screening took place in the presence of director Ahmed Bouchagla, American storyteller Terrence Leonard Olson, known as Terry Olson, whose journey forms the central thread of the documentary, and screenwriter Mohamed Ahmed Gain.

Their participation allowed the public to discover the intentions and artistic choices that guided the film’s creation.

Through Terry Olson’s journey in Morocco, “The Call” revisits the memory of the Green March from a human perspective. As he visits various locations and meets with witnesses and local communities, the documentary creates a dialogue between the memories of a pivotal event and the realities of contemporary Morocco.

Brought to the screen in Helsinki, these individual stories give substance to a collective history and make its legacy accessible to a new audience.

The American perspective is one of the driving forces of the narrative. As both narrator and interviewee, Terry Olson guides the viewer in discovering Moroccan history and its human, cultural, and national dimensions.

His journey offers an attentive outsider’s view of this memory and recalls the historical and human ties that bind Morocco and the United States.

Through the language of documentary filmmaking, the film explores the relationships between memory, identity, and attachment to one’s homeland. The testimonies gathered shed light on the place of the Green March in the Moroccan collective consciousness, while the journey connects this legacy to the Kingdom’s transformations and the aspirations of its people.

The choice of Helsinki lends this European premiere a particular resonance. An emblematic city of dialogue and the pursuit of peace, the Finnish capital remains associated with the Helsinki Final Act, signed on August 1, 1975, a few months before the Green March.

This document notably affirms the non-use of force and the peaceful settlement of disputes. The chronological proximity of these two events, situated within distinct historical contexts, offers a symbolic echo of the peaceful nature of the Moroccan mobilization.

In his welcoming address, the Moroccan Ambassador to Finland, Mohamed Achgalou, emphasized the historical and human significance of this cultural initiative, which coincides with the dual celebration of the Green March and Unity Day.

The evocation of this final event, which concludes the documentary, opens up a reflection on the continuity of this story and invites the Helsinki audience to continue their exploration of Morocco, its commitment to peace, and its national unity.

The film’s presentation to a European audience thus contributes to raising awareness of this history beyond the Kingdom’s borders and to fostering its transmission to new generations.

Discussions with the director, the storyteller, and the screenwriter provided an opportunity to revisit the documentary’s origins, the construction of the narrative, and the encounter between an American perspective and a Moroccan memory. These discussions extended the screening experience by illuminating the creative process through which testimonies and a personal journey take the form of a cinematic narrative.

The evening concluded with a reception featuring the tea ceremony of the Kingdom’s southern provinces. From the screen to the tea tasting, the guests extended the journey offered by the film during a moment of sharing and conviviality.