Nass El Ghiwane -Transes (1981)

Nass El Ghiwane (Arabic: ناس الغيوان‎) are a musical group established in 1971 in Casablanca, Morocco. The group, which originated in avant-garde political theater, has played an influential role in Moroccan chaabi (or shaabi). Nass El Ghiwane were the first band to introduce Western instruments like the modern banjo. Their music incorporates a trance aesthetic, reflecting the influence of local Gnawa music. Khaled, a prominent Raï singer, began his career performing Nass El Ghiwane songs at weddings and parties. They are also credited for helping bring a new social movement to Morocco.

Transes is a Moroccan film directed by Ahmed El Maânouni, released in 1981. A fan of the Moroccan musical group Nass El Ghiwane, Izza Genini encouraged Moroccan director Ahmed El Maânouni to film the concerts of this musical group. The Moroccan director then follows Nass El Ghiwane in several concerts in the Maghreb (Morocco, Tunisia) and in France then decides to go further and films the musicians in their intimacy. The result is this musical docufiction retracing various social themes (hope, laughter, suffering, revolt ...). The trance in its traditional musical form found among the Gnaouas in Morocco is the major inspiration of Nass El Ghiwane.

"The group's "Trances" are our equivalent of "soul music", our irrationality. I followed the example of the Nass El Ghiwane themselves: I went back to the roots. They draw their music from the last thousand years of Moroccan and African history. the film sets out to reveal and emphasize this heritage. I chose the music of the Saharan brotherhood, The Gnawas, and the verses of the famous poet El Mejdoub, to underline the trances." - Ahmed El Maânouni