DePaul University’s Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) program will host a free screening of the documentary film, “The Music of Morocco and the Cycles of Life,” by DePaul School of Music faculty member Victoria Vorreiter at 6 p.m. Feb. 17 in Room 120 of the DePaul Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave.

The 50-minute film explores the music rituals that are connected to life’s passages in Morocco. The film reveals how each phase of Moroccan life is marked by musical ritual, from the birthing rites of a Berber baby to the Muslim recitation at an elder’s funeral, from ancient Arabic lullabies to adolescent initiation ceremonies, from day-to-day chanting in physical labor to religious prayer. Not only does the film expose viewers to the extraordinary music of Morocco, but because of music’s role in every aspect of life, viewers also witness Moroccans up close as they celebrate in their homes, fields and places of worship. Through these intimate scenes, the mundane becomes universal and moving.

Vorreiter, who teaches violin at DePaul and is a student in the university’s MALS program, made her first trek to the North African nation in 1998 to do graduate studies at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech. She traveled alone to Morocco five more times over the next three years to collect footage and immerse herself in the music and lives of Moroccans.

The film premiered last year at the Chicago Cultural Center and the Anfa Cultural Center in Morocco, with the latter showing hosted by the American Consulate in Casablanca.

The documentary also has been shown at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Escambair Film Festival in Toulouse, France, and the Essaouira Music Festival in Morocco. It is scheduled this year for screenings at the National Folklore Festival in Marrakech and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

“The Music of Morocco and the Cycles of Life” was made possible, in part, by grants from the Illinois Humanities Council, the Ford Fund, Royal Air Moroc, the National Moroccan Tourist Office and the Chicago Community Trust. A pre-screening concert will feature a performance by the DePaul Suzuki strings. Vorreiter will introduce the film and answer questions following the showing. Her photographs from Morocco also will be on display. For more information about this event and the MALS program, call 773/325-7840.