A film documenting a University of Liverpool School of Architecture restoration and recording project in the Moroccan desert1  was a finalist at the XIII Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Films Festival.

The film, M’Hamid Oasis Morocco, produced by Cinetecture’s Monika Koeck, features work undertaken in Ouled Youssef, M’Hamid, by the University’s Centre for the Study of Architecture and Cultural Heritage of India, Arabia and the Maghreb (ArCHIAM) in collaboration with Terrachidia, as part of the project Restoring, Recording and Inventorying the Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage of the M‘Hamid Oasis, Morocco.

It was one of only 38 documentaries selected from a total of 1,036 films submitted by filmmakers from more than 90 countries for the event, organised by Istanbul Metropolitan Branch of Chamber of Architects.

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• 1. In 2019, ArCHIAM (University of Liverpool) and the NGO Terrachidia (Spain) teamed up in conducting an “Earthen Architectural Heritage Workshop” in M'Hamid/Morocco. Involving the local community as well as architects, engineers and earthen-architecture enthusiasts from around the world, the team restored and documented the oasis’ endangered cultural heritage. In addition, the workshop provided an opportunity for local young people to get trained by master builders in earth building techniques, which otherwise would be forgotten.