A person wearing a hat and dark jacket leans on a tree stump in a sparse rural landscape with hills and trees.

UK Premiere: Mirage (Assarab)

Name: UK Premiere: Mirage (Assarab)
Start: 2026-07-24T14:20
End: 2026-07-24T16:10
Location: Watershed

18 (CTBA)

part of Restored & Rediscovered

Film

Fri 24 July 14:20

Director: Ahmed Bouanani
Cast: Mohamed el-Habachi, Mohamed Saïd Afifi, Fatima Regragui, Mostafa Mounir, Mohamed Razine
Details: 100 mins, Subtitled, 1994, Morocco
Primary language: Moroccan Arabic

Priority booking opens on Wed 27 May at 12:00 for Cinema Rediscovered passholders and Club Shed members.

General sale opens on Mon 1 June at 10:00.

Additional booking info below

Set in 1947 French-occupied Morocco, Mirage follows Mohamed, a poor young farmer who finds a bag of flour full of money.

In his attempt to exchange the money, he embarks on a journey that takes him through the city's dark layers and labyrinths and discovers the treasure is more curse than blessing.

Crafted by renowned poet and screenwriter Ahmed Bouanani (1938–2011), this experimental masterpiece – the director’s first full-length film and the last he ever made – draws allusions to Morocco's rich history and oral traditions, and the ever-present spectre of colonialism. Shot in stark black and white, rich in contrast, Mirage played a pivotal role in bringing experimentation to Moroccan cinema.

This 4K restoration of his only narrative feature used original 35mm elements and took four months. It focused on retaining the film’s unique visual and audio identity, faithfully recreating the analogue aesthetic at the heart of Ahmed Bouanani’s work.

Curated by Abiba Coulibaly presented as part of Other Ways of Seeing, supported by BFI awarding funds from National Lottery.

With an introduction by curator Abiba Coulibaly.

Special offers:
Booking for more than 10 events/screenings?
Buy a Cinema Rediscovered Festival Pass (£130 full / £100 concessions / £80 24 and under) and select your tickets for as many of the 60+ screenings and events during the festival as you want.
Booking for between 4 to 10 events/screenings?
Multi-Ticket Package Offer: get 15% off the regular ticket price when you book 4-10 Cinema Rediscovered screenings and/or events. The discount will automatically apply when you add the tickets to your basket.
Club Shed members get 15% off all individual Cinema Rediscovered tickets.

Priority booking opens on Wed 27 May at 12:00 for Cinema Rediscovered passholders and Club Shed members.

General sale opens on Mon 1 June at 10:00.

Event types:

Intro: Introductory Talk

Fri 24 July

Join Club Shed for £20 and save 15% on tickets. Plus, get advance booking, discounts on food and more. Get membership and start saving today

Pricing

Ticket price:

£12.00 full (plus 12% booking fee*)

£9.50 concessions / Refugees and Asylum Seekers (plus 12% booking fee*)

£6.50 24 or under (plus 12% booking fee*)

Concessions apply to Full Time Students, Job Seekers Allowance and Employment Support Allowance, 66+ who have retired, Equity and BECTU members and disabled people. Where applicable please produce proof of eligibility when collecting a ticket.

*Booking fee applies to online and phone booking only.

Complimentary tickets are available for Personal Assistants accompanying customers who are Deaf / Disabled and can be booked through the Box Office, or online after joining our Access Register.

Cinema Rediscovered Festival Pass

The Cinema Rediscovered Pass allows you to select from 60+ Cinema Rediscovered screenings and events between Wed 22 - Sun 26 July. Subject to availability, terms and conditions apply. Buy your Pass here. Pass holders get 25% off monthly or annual subscriptions to streaming platform Cinelogue.

Pass prices: £130 full / £100 concessions / £80 24 and under.

Multi-Ticket Package Offer

Get 15% off the regular ticket price when you book 4-10 Cinema Rediscovered screenings and/or events. The discount will automatically apply when you add the tickets to your basket.

Club Shed members get 15% off all individual Cinema Rediscovered tickets.

All Cinema Rediscovered Pass and ticket holders can get 20% off any 6 O'Clock Gin & Tonic (including Watershed’s very own) at the Café & Bar and Undershed Bar during the Festival. Pass and ticket holders can also enjoy 20% off Wiper and True draught products after 20:00 at the Café & Bar and Undershed Bar during the Festival.

Please note: the Cinema Walks, Projection Tours, Improv Workshops, Shadow Puppet Making Workshop and the Film Quiz are excluded from the Pass and Package.

Access

Cinema seat widths

Our cinema seats are 46cm wide, with wooden armrests on either side of each seat that can’t be moved.

We can provide seats without armrests or bean bags as alternatives at the front of the cinema if that is more comfortable for you. Please just call our Box Office on (0117) 927 5100 or book in-person to arrange.

Access Register

Join our Access Register to help us deliver the best possible experience for you. You can sign up to our Access Register online, or in person at Box Office or by calling (0117) 927 5100.

Further info

Our building is accessible, our staff are trained in basic BSL and Deaf awareness, we have toilets for everyone and we run an accessible programme of screenings, events and exhibitions. Find out more on our Access page.

Concessions

Concessions apply to Full Time Students, Job Seekers Allowance and Employment Support Allowance, 66+ who have retired, Equity and BECTU members and disabled people.

Where applicable please produce proof of eligibility when collecting a ticket or showing your ticket at the entrance to the cinema.

UK Premiere: Mirage (Assarab)

Subtitled screening

Restored & Rediscovered: UK Premiere: Mirage (Assarab)