Marrakech, Morocco — One of the largest film festivals in the Middle East and North Africa opened in Morocco on Friday, bringing together actors and directors from around the world to showcase 70 works from 32 countries.
Now in its 21st year, the Marrakech International Film Festival will present Oscar nominees and films to the public. However, unlike the larger film festivals of Venice, Cannes and Toronto, the focus is on emerging directors and films from the Middle East and Africa.
The list of actors and directors participating in this year’s conversation and tribute includes Sean Penn, Alfonso Cuaron and David Cronenberg.
Remi Bonhomme, the festival’s artistic director, said what makes the festival unique is its ability to attract talent on par with the world’s largest festivals, while also highlighting emerging directors from Morocco, the Middle East and Africa.
“We pay a lot of attention to countries that are underrepresented in film,” he said. “We support filmmakers who have their own voices and tell stories in specific contexts, whether in Iran, Morocco or the United States.”
“But they don’t have to be the voice of their country. They need the freedom to express their personal vision,” he added.
One of the themes Bonhomme has focused on in his films this year is family. Bonhomme said the filmmakers, including “Seeds of the Sacred Fig” director Mohammad Rasoulof, are “exploring social and political implications through the scale of the family.”
The festival kicks off on Friday with “The Order,” a thriller starring Jude Law about the FBI investigation into the leader of a white supremacist group.
The jury competition includes 14 first or second films. The panel of nine judges included actors Jacob Elordi and Andrew Garfield, and Ali Abbasi, the Iranian-Danish director of “The Apprentice.” Luca Guadagnino, the Italian-Algerian director of ‘Queer’, will serve as the chairman of the jury.
Competing films include Said Hamich’s “Across the Sea,” about a young Moroccan man’s immigration to Marseille, and Damian Kocur’s “Under the Volcano,” Poland’s Oscar entry for Best International Feature. ‘ is included.
Founded by King Mohammed VI of Morocco and presided over by his brother Prince Moulay Rashid, the festival plays an important role in introducing and promoting Moroccan films and directors.
It rarely shy away from a variety of topics, and this year it will screen Moroccan films about immigration, homosexuality, bar performers and communist Moroccan Jews.
