Biography 

Dr Antonio Baldassarre is a musical anthropologist, who earned a degree in Arts, Music and Spectacle at "Alma Mater Studiorum” University of Bologna, graduating with honours in ethnomusicology, glotto-anthropologic curriculum accomplished at the University of L’Aquila). His research focuses on the musical cultures of Morocco since 1977. He has published a recording of the Gnawa ritual, celebrated by the prestigious masters Sam and Hamida, and several CDs on the music of Moroccan Sufism, on the Arab-Andalusian Nuba, and on the music of the women of Morocco.

Description of the Film 'Mussem'

Mussem documents the ritual activities of a Teqqà, a community of Moroccan popular Sufism, during the annual celebrations for the anniversary of the prophet Mohammed’s birth, ‘Aid al Mawlid Nabawi. Following what, in terms of modern linguistics, is defined as an emic perspective (namely the point of view of those who speak a specific language), the protagonists of the movie speak to us directly, showing, with their daily behaviour, their living religious practices and their beliefs. To avoid an intrusion into the intimacy of the community, no professional crew has been used: the footage was realised by Baldassarre himself with a small camera, whose eye leads the viewer through the living situations. The last scene is a single sequence-plan, more than ten minutes long, without any cuts: according to the author, this is a kind of ‘Bonus Track’, which shows the reality of the situation, without artifices other than some light camera movements.