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Rabat (AFP) – After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Marrakech International Film Festival is back in a new edition that celebrates auteur cinema, as the capital of Moroccan tourism hosts big names of the genre such as Tilda Swinton, Paolo Sorrentino and Asghar Farhadi.
The festival, which takes place from 11 to 19 November, favors in its official competition “the young talents who will shape the cinema of tomorrow” and, at the same time, spreads the red carpets for its guests among the seventh movie stars art, similar to the previous sessions.
The artistic director of the festival, Remi Bonhomme, told AFP that “the specificity of the artistic line of the festival” lies precisely in the combination of these two worlds.
14 films, six of which by female directors, are vying for the “gold star” of the festival, from 33 countries. The jury is chaired by the Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, already winner of the Oscar in 2013 for his film “La Grande Bellizza”.
The members of the committee will include directors from different backgrounds, such as Lebanese director Nadine Labaki, French actor Taher Rahim and German-American actress Diane Kruger.
The festival will open with the screening of a new version of the famous animated film “Pinocchio”, signed by the Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, inspired by the well-known story of its author, Carlo Collodi.
The program also features a tribute to American director James Gray (“Little Odessa” and “The Lost City of Zee”) and Scottish actress Tilda Swinton, who excelled in playing very different roles. Previously you chaired the festival jury in the 2018 and 2019 sessions.
The festival also celebrates the journey of one of the faces of Moroccan cinema, director Farida Beliazid, and of Bollywood star, Indian actor Ranveer Singh.
From all continents
In addition to the performances, the festival audience will have an appointment with the open meeting segment, which hosts a wide range of guests, to answer questions from attendees.
Among them is the protagonist of the suspense, the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who won two Oscars for “A Separation” (2011) and “The Salesman” (2016).
The list also includes the talented French director and little media appearance Leos Krax, the spoiled son of American independent cinema Jim Jarmusch, the Swedish director Robin Ostlund, two-time winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Like every session, the festival will also present outdoor performances in Jamaâ El Fna square, the famous tourist attraction in central Marrakech. This year’s plays are dedicated to celebrating science fiction cinema, through films such as Denis Villeneuve’s “Don” (2021) and James Gray’s “Ad Astra” (2019).
As for the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, adjacent to the Majorelle Gardens, frequented by tourists from all over the world, it will host the “Eleventh Continent” section dedicated to recently restored old films, such as “Mona Moto” (1975) by Cameroonian Jean-Pierre Decongui -Biba, or “El Yaka” (“Beirut Al Gabea” – 1981) by the Lebanese Burhan Alawie.
The same paragraph also includes the screening of unusual films such as “My Day” (2022) by Paraguayan Paz Enquina, or “Real 21” (2022) by Palestinian Muhannad Yaqubi.
Film lovers will also be able to watch 15 films that have been screened or awarded this year at major international festivals such as “No Bears” by Iranian Jafar Panahi, who has been jailed in Iran since July. It is the film that won the special jury prize of this year’s Venice Film Festival.
The same goes for the film “Saint Omer”, which also won the Grand Jury Prize in Venice by French director Alice Diop, which will be broadcast in the “Special Shows” segment.
Remy Bonhomme expresses his happiness “because the program of the 19th session foresees the coexistence of different cinematographic fields through 76 films (…) from all continents”.
Alongside the performances, the festival also includes the “Atlas Workshops”, a program organized by the 2018 edition, dedicated to supporting young African and Middle Eastern directors.
In July, one of its graduates, the Egyptian Omar Al-Zuhairi, won the “Critics’ Week” Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for his film “Feathers”.
© 2022 AFP
