by Steve Rockwell
Atlas Film Studios in Morocco is the largest film studio in the world by land area, spanning over 322,000 square feet. Morocco has a thriving movie industry, and Atlas Film Studios is at its center. Atlas connects to my earliest memory of a book. The Titan holding up the world on his shoulders was on the cover of a Finnish encyclopedia called, Pikku Jattilainen (The Little Giant).
The circle of my five-year-old world was small. At this point, I knew three quarters of it. To the north behind our house was a community center with an outdoor stage that put on a production of Hansel and Gretel. Across the road on the south side was a house with a coffee grinder, clearly visible through the kitchen window. Downhill to the road east lay the city – just a bicycle ride to the Helsinki Police Department for my father.
The road westward was ripe for discovery. Its opportunity arose with a distraction. Today, my mother was hosting a hen party. Walking quickly, for what seemed like forever, took me to a crossroads. By the time the saw tooth evergreens turned brooding against the horizon, I knew it was journey’s end. Returning somewhat winded, mother set out a milky chicory coffee, steamy with a side of “korppu” (coffee bread rusk). Rotating the crisp around the rim of the cup as it melted made the day feel complete. Background chatter and laughter supplied its soundtrack.
Shooting for Martin Scorsese’s Kundun began at Atlas Corporation Studios on August 26, 1996, finishing on December 20. The Atlas Mountains and desert landscape to stood in for Tibet. Other Moroccan locations were used, but Atlas Studios was the main base.
(to be continued)