François Beaurain is a French photographer based in Rabat, Morocco. He holds a Master’s degree in Fundamental Physics and a PhD in Chemistry. He initially spent ten years working in the field of climate change before turning to photography.
Since 2018, his photographic practice has focused on heritage-related issues. He identifies, photographs, and documents colonial-era buildings in Morocco. In 2021, he published Cinémas du Maroc, a book that serves both as an architectural inventory and as a history of the Kingdom’s movie theaters. He is currently working on a second project dedicated to Morocco’s industrial and military heritage.
In 2024, he enrolled at the Paris-La Villette School of Architecture to pursue a PhD on the subject of Morocco’s cinematic heritage.
Recent Works
Cinemas of Morocco: Large-scale photographic and archival documentation of Morocco’s modern cinema architecture, culminating in a major illustrated publication and exhibitions in Morocco and internationally.
Residency period
From January to March 2026.
Upcoming Residency at IAS-UM6P:
The upcoming residency at the Institute for Advanced Studies of UM6P will constitute a key phase in the development of Abandoned Morocco. It will provide an interdisciplinary research environment conducive to deepening the historical and theoretical dimensions of the project, while benefiting from close interaction with researchers in the humanities and social sciences. During this period, the residency will support the consolidation and analysis of the photographic and archival corpus, foster scholarly exchange through seminars and workshops, and enable the structuring of the project’s outputs in view of future academic publications, exhibitions, and international dissemination.