Production
Michel Ocelot conceived his film as a ''celebration of the Maghreb and Islamic civilization in the Middle Ages''. Having cherished memories of a trip to Algeria during his adolescence, he visited the ''three countries of the Maghreb to sketch the scenery for his film''. The city of Timgad particularly marked him. From another trip in 2001, the Bastion 23 and the Bardo Museum in Algiers inspired him a "beautiful Moorish dwelling." For the characters’ costumes, Ocelot particularly researched using a book about Algerian costume and those seen in the Bardo Museum. The women in the film wear Berber


