Nearly 200 photographs taken. Twenty made it to Paris. Each one carries a whole history in its silence. At 2,200 metres above sea level, in the heart of the eastern High Atlas Mountains, Imilchil is a village most of the world associates with one thing: its famous moussem, the annual marriage festival that draws thousands. Moroccan photographers Noureddine El Magouri and Zakaria Mtilk went in February 2025 — off-season, mid-winter — to find something else entirely. What they found is now on the walls of the Fondation Maison du Maroc in Paris, in an exhibition titled “Guardians of Silence”, open until 16 June.
The twenty black-and-white photographs on display pay tribute to what the artists describe as “the dignity, resilience and discreet beauty” of Imilchil’s people. Women, men, children and youth, captured in their daily lives through what El Magouri and Mtilk call “a humanistic and intimate approach”. The choice of black and white was deliberate — a way, the photographers said, of reinforcing the emotional power of the portraits and scenes without distraction.
“When you spend time with them, there are few words — but within that silence lies an entire language and a whole history”. — Noureddine El Magouri, photographer · MAP, 29 May 2026
“We wanted to spend time with the inhabitants, share their daily lives and understand their way of being”, El Magouri told MAP. The exhibition’s title, he explained, refers to “a silence filled with dignity, traditions and generosity”. The twenty exhibited shots were selected from nearly 200 photographs taken during their stay.
A documentary born from sequences filmed without cinematic intent
The stay also produced something unexpected. Zakaria Mtilk described the project as above all “a human adventure”, praising “the generosity and hospitality of the inhabitants”. From footage initially filmed without any cinematic plan, the two photographers assembled a 14-minute documentary screened during the opening ceremony. “We are photographers first and foremost”, Mtilk said, “but we wondered whether these images could tell a story”. The film, he added, “allows the audience to connect with the characters before discovering the exhibition”.
Both photographers are originally from Essaouira. “Guardians of Silence” had its first public showing at the Essaouira Photography Encounters last November, organised at the initiative of the French Institute of Essaouira, before travelling to Paris as part of the Fondation Maison du Maroc’s cultural programme — an institution dedicated to the international outreach of Moroccan artistic creation.
- Source: MAP