The 19th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival opened Friday evening at the Palais des Congrès in Marrakech, with the presence of 7 national and international art stars and prominent figures from the worlds of culture, media, and the arts.
After two editions were cancelled due to Covid-19, the FIFM is back and the first announcements are starting to fall. While it has recently been known that the jury will be chaired by Paolo Sorrentino, the FIFM revealed in a statement, made public on Tuesday, October 11, the eight members of the jury who will surround the president to award the Gold Star.
Laïla Marrakchi, Diane Kruger, Tahar Rahim... qui sont les membres du jury de la 19e édition ?
The eight new members announced are Danish director Susanne Bier, Guatemalan-American actor and producer Oscar Isaac, British actress Vanessa Kirby, German actress Diane Kruger, Australian director Justin Kurzel, Lebanese director and actress Nadine Labaki, Moroccan director Laïla Marrakchi and French actor Tahar Rahim.
The jury, composed of nine actors from international cinema, will deliver its verdict on November 19, during the closing night of the festival.
In a festive and warm atmosphere, the cinema thus resumes its rights in this thousand-year-old city, with a grandiose ceremony marking the reunion of fans of the giant screen with this unmissable event, after a break of two years, Covid-19 obliges.
This ceremony took off with the traditional parade of cinema icons present, who walked the Red Carpet to the cheers of a loyal and thirsty audience, who came to meet and discover its favorite stars.
Festival goers also gave a warm welcome to the big names of Moroccan cinema as soon as several national celebrities appeared on the "Red Carpet".
The president of the Jury, Paolo Sorrentino, was also duly welcomed by the Marrakchi public, as well as the other members, namely British actress Vanessa Kirby, German actress Diane Kruger, Australian director Justin Kurzel, Lebanese director and actress Nadine Labaki, Moroccan director Laïla Marrakchi and French actor Tahar Rahim.
Speaking on this occasion, Sorrentino was delighted with the warm welcome he received in the company of the members of the Jury while expressing his immense joy to take part in this flagship event in Marrakech, this "magical place", stressing that this new edition offers the opportunity to debate and discover the novelties of the 7th art around the world.
The highlight of this ceremony was the tribute paid to the Indian actor Ranveer Singh who received, on this occasion, the Golden Star of the Festival from the hands of the advisor to the president of the Festival Foundation, Mélita Toscan Du Plantier. Ranveer Singh, one of the four emblematic figures of the 7th art of different Continents to whom this edition will pay tribute in recognition of their brilliant careers, has known, in the space of a decade, a lightning rise and has established himself as one of the most talented actors of Bollywood, beyond the borders of his country.
In addition to Ranveer Singh, the Festival, true to its tradition, will also pay tribute to Scottish actress Tilda Swinton, American filmmaker James Gray and Moroccan director Farida Benlyazid, who will also receive the Festival's Gold Star.
Fourteen feature films are in the running to win the "Golden Star" in the official competition of the Festival, including "Le Bleu du Caftan" by Moroccan Maryam Touzani.
In addition to the feature films competing in the official competition, 62 other films will be screened as part of the "Gala Sessions", the "Special Screenings", the "11th Continent", the "Panorama of Moroccan Cinema", "Young Audience", the "Open-Air Screenings at Jamaa El Fna"
Jemaa el-Fna Square is one of the main cultural spaces in Marrakech. Having become one of the symbols of the city since its foundation in the eleventh century, it offers an exceptional concentration of Moroccan popular cultural traditions that are expressed through music, religion, and various artistic expressions.
Located at the entrance of the Medina, this triangular square surrounded by restaurants, stalls, and public buildings is the daily scene of commercial activities and entertainment.
In total, 15 Moroccan films will be shown in the different sections of the Festival.
Official Selection: FIFM unveils the 14 films in the running for the Gold Star
With 14 films, including 10 first feature films and 6 signed by female directors, the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM) unveils the selection of films participating in the official competition.The official competition will present the first and second feature films to reveal and promote the new talents of world cinema. The films in question thus form, according to a press release from the FIFM, an "eclectic selection, from 14 different countries including 2 from Latin America (Brazil and Mexico), 3 European (France, Portugal, and Switzerland), 4 from the MEA region and its diaspora (Morocco, Sweden/Somalia, Syria, Tunisia), as well as Australia, Canada, Iran, Indonesia, and Turkey".
The list of selected films is as follows:
Alma Viva by Cristèle Alves Meira (Portugal), Ashkal by Youssef Chebbi (Tunisia), Astarkan by David Depesseville (France), Autobiography by Makbul Mubarak (Indonesia), Le Bleu du caftan by Maryam Touzani (Morocco), Faraway Song by Clarissa Campolina (Brazil), Petrol by Alena Lodkina (Australia), Red shoes by Carlos Kaiser Eichelmann (Mexico), Riceboy sleeps by Anthony Shim (Canada), Savage by Ahmed Abdullahi (Sweden), Snow and the bear by Selcen Ergun (Turkey), Black Knight by Emad Aleebrahim Dehkordi (Iran), The taste of apple is red by Ehab Tarabieh (Syria) and Foudre by Carmen Jaquier (Switzerland).
"Exploring several cinematographic genres, from fantasy to film noir, period film, social drama, thriller or melodrama, the films in the running for the Gold Star address topics that echo the concerns of younger generations around the world: identity construction and the need to have role models, the place of women in our contemporary societies, but also questions of transmission whether it is tradition, political heritage or simply love," said a statement from the FIFM.