Ben Barka The Moroccan Equation (2009 - Simone Bitton)

Title: Ben Barka: The Moroccan Equation Year: 2001 Director: Simone Bitton Runtime: 84 min Plot: In 1956 Morocco, which had been a French colony for many years, finally achieved its independence. This was thanks in large part to the efforts of Medhi Ben Barka, a leader of the Istiqlal (Freedom) Party. Ben Barka's three goals for Morocco were freedom from French influence, the democratization of its institutions, and its rapid economic development. These goals, and the "radical" means he proposed to achieve them, brought him into conflict with his country's post-independence rulers. This conflict would lead to his abduction from a Paris street corner and assassination, in 1965. This film is the story of his life and work, and also of the Moroccan people's struggle to wrestle both freedom and economic security from their rulers. Ben Barka was born several years after his country had become a French colony. France exploited the country economically, and denied its people any particip