Nourredine Lakhmari and Faouzi Bensaidi tap into the Moroccan underworld in their three recent films centered around crooked cops, prostitutes, murderers and criminals. Bensaidi’s What A Wonderful World (2006) sets the distinctly film noir tone for the three decidedly different yet “related by genre and subject” films –his Death for Sale (2011) and Lakhmari’s (2012) Zero. All films have either sustained huge successes at the Moroccan box office (Zero) or in international sales (WWW), Death for Sale even the Moroccan entry for the 85th annual Academy Awards and many cinema festivals.* In fact Zero had more viewers and earned more money in Moroccan theaters than Fast & Furious 6, Gravity or any international or Moroccan film-- 4 653 531,00 dhs earned. All three films received more than 4 million dhs in funding from the CCM--this in a time when youth across Morocco gather in protest against unemployment and disenfranchisement. Dirty cops, prostitutes, murderers, crimes and violence –some might say the hallmarks of film noir and the hallmarks of society in disarray-- link these films and solicit applause from Moroccan youth audiences while receiving criticism from conservative social elements who despise seeing Morocco thus represented onscreen. The two directors, so heavily invested in the underworld milieu, represent on one hand hope and on the other abject despair of ever escaping social and economic circumstances. Perhaps that’s why they resonate so astoundingly with youth audiences who still today find themselves in dire social and economic straits. The World Bank report in June 2012 averred that around 30 percent of Moroccans aged between 15 and 29 —44 percent of the working age population — were unemployed.** It is my contention that films such as these resonate with audiences who see themselves and their realities depicted onscreen. This paper explores the social facets of the films and investigates their positioning as film noir or neo-noir, a term generally describing crime dramas of a certain style and quality produced in recent years or outside of the US. Films noir tend to revolve around heroes who are more flawed and morally questionable than the norm, often described by critics as “alienated" and in the words of Silver, "filled with existential bitterness”.*** Thus perhaps describing Moroccan youth problems of today? *CCM; Bilan de l'année cinématographique 2013 Date : 15/02/2014 ** http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/world-bank-morocco-youth-unemployment-is-very-serious/ *** Silver, Alain, and James Ursini (1999). The Noir Style. Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press.