Creature di sabbia

In the Moroccan Sahara, the story of Ali and a countercurrent choice: to stay, to build, and to endure.

Still from Creatures of Sand, filmed in the Moroccan Sahara and directed by Maria Arena

Production details

Docuseries

2025 - 2026

Morocco

Synopsis

Ali was born in the early 1980s into a nomadic Amazigh family from Et-Taous, in the heart of the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco, a harsh yet breathtaking place far from the usual tourist routes.

As a child, he dreams of becoming a Boilarman (camel herder), like his grandfather, and of traveling the world with his caravan of dromedaries. His family, however, has other plans: to leave the desert and move to the city, so the children can attend school and new work opportunities can open up for their future.

Ali loves the desert; there he feels free, even though life is hard. The city he moves to at the age of ten does not excite him, unlike the rest of his family, who settle into an apartment equipped with the comforts of urban life: running water, electricity, and even a washing machine.

His grandfather’s nomadic camp remains for Ali both a point of origin and a place of comparison with the city and its promises of stable work—though at the cost of a life rhythm far removed from the cycles of nature. As an adult, Ali will return to live in the desert, creating a job inspired by modernity, yet driven by the desire to pass on and protect his knowledge of nature.

Teaser

Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, Berber men in traditional clothing in front of an earthen house in the Moroccan Sahara
Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, solitary tree with camels resting in the shade in the Moroccan Sahara desert
Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, figures in traditional Berber clothing in front of a rural building in the Moroccan Sahara
Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, Berber nomad with camel in the Moroccan Sahara desert
Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, solitary figure on a desert plateau in the Moroccan Sahara
Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, Berber teapot on fire with a Sahara dune and a figure in the background
Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, Berber men in traditional clothing in front of an earthen house in the Moroccan Sahara
Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, solitary tree with camels resting in the shade in the Moroccan Sahara desert
Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, figures in traditional Berber clothing in front of a rural building in the Moroccan Sahara
Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, Berber nomad with camel in the Moroccan Sahara desert
Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, solitary figure on a desert plateau in the Moroccan Sahara
Scene from the film Creature di sabbia, Berber teapot on fire with a Sahara dune and a figure in the background

Credits

Creature di sabbia

is a film by Maria Arena

Directed by

Maria Arena

Production

Accademia di Belle Arti di Catania, PNRR C-Fabit Project

Executive Production

Gabriella Manfrè for Apnea Film

Screenplay

Maria Arena and Josella Porto

Cast

Ali Azroual – Adult Ali

Child Ali – Adam Bomsoud

Ali’s Grandfather – Mohamed Azroual

Ali’s Grandmother – Oaha Mama

Ali’s Mother – Archia Azroual

Ali’s Father – Hassan Bomsoud

Ali’s Sister – Kadija Bomsoud

Ali’s Sister – Widad Bomsoud

Ali’s Brother – Achraf Bomsoud

Ali’s Uncle – Yourself Azroual

Nomads of the Merzan camp

Director of Photography and First Camera

Martino Pellion De Persano

Production Manager

Valerio Filardo

Sound Recording

Roberto Colella

Editing

Angelo Giummarra and Antonio Lizzio

Camera Assistant

Simon Luca Chiotti

Assistant Camera / Second Camera

Angelo Giummarra

Sound Recording

Roberto Colella

Boom Operator

Alessandro Calì

Assistant Director and Script Supervisors

Federico Fortuna and Felice Francesco Scuderi

Production Assistant

Ali Azroual

Color Grading

Donato Canosa

Post-production and Sound Mix

Michele Musarra

Subtitles

Felice Francesco Scuderi

Cook

Hassan Azroual

Driver

Hami Azroual

Academy of Fine Arts of Catania

As part of the PNRR C-Fabit project, fifteen students from the Film Course of the Academy of Fine Arts of Catania support lecturer-directors on international sets, taking part in all stages of production and post-production.

Acknowledgements

Yunes Benmusa Fossil Mine

Filming permits in Morocco – Isso Production

Travel agency Viaggi Vacanze Cita

Technical equipment – Ouvert Cine Rental

Accommodation – SANDFISH Desert Luxury Camp (Merzouga)

Ali’s house (Tigmart)

Backstage

Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia, crew with a Berber family during a meal in a Moroccan interior
Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia, portrait of a young man in the Moroccan Sahara desert
Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia: the actors playing Alì as an adult and as a child
Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia, cameraman with two children in the Moroccan desert
Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia, an adult and a child kneeling in the Sahara sand
Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia, women in a traditional Moroccan interior during filming
Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia, crew with a Berber family during a meal in a Moroccan interior
Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia, portrait of a young man in the Moroccan Sahara desert
Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia: the actors playing Alì as an adult and as a child
Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia, cameraman with two children in the Moroccan desert
Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia, an adult and a child kneeling in the Sahara sand
Behind the scenes of Creature di sabbia, women in a traditional Moroccan interior during filming