Tariq Abla – Netherlands
“There are those who inhabit Morocco, and there are those who are inhabited by Morocco. » With these poignant phrases and oud and music tunes and the distribution of certificates of recognition, the curtain fell on the activities of the fourth session of Morocco. The Film and Migration Festival, organized by the Dutch city of Utrecht, was an opportunity to meet and remember Moroccan culture and its men from the diaspora who represent it. Their country is better represented in various areas within what is called parallel diplomacy. .
The festival, known for screening a set of films, over a period of three days, during which six feature films won festival awards, where the Moroccan film “The Cup of Love” won the grand festival prize, and at the same time, the hero of the film, Adel Aba Turab, won the prize for best male role, and the film “The divorces of Casablanca”, directed by Ahed Bensouda, won the prize for best direction, while the screenplay prize was awarded to the film “Moaz” by Tunisian director Mohamed Ali Al-Nahdi. Actress Nessia Benghazi also received the award for best female role for her role in the film “Anato”, directed by Fatima Boubakdi. For its part, noted the committee judging the Dutch film “A Moroccan”. Marriage Contract” by director Johan Ninehouse, which is full of joyful Moroccan life, as well as the film “The Last Fight” by Moroccan director residing in France, Mohamed Boufkrane.
Buthaina Al-Kardoudi, Consul General at the Consulate of Utrecht, during her speech, expressed her gratitude and thanks to the organizing party, who expressed the resounding success of this event, which is an opportunity to embrace the Moroccan community and communicate directly with it because the latter has a major role in supporting and representing its country, which brings to the culture of the two countries, Morocco and the Netherlands, with the aim of spreading the values of tolerance and coexistence through cinema, noting that its consulate follows an open door policy and reaches out to all positive initiatives aimed at strengthening, developing and activating parallel diplomacy to make Morocco and its traditions known, stressing that cinema and art in general also constitute an important diplomatic interface to create communication and expand bridges of knowledge. between Moroccans abroad and inside.
Buthaina Al-Kardoudi, during her speech, apologized to the audience for not having attended the opening of this session, which coincided with the sudden death of her colleague, Consul Boutaher Ahradane.
This fourth session saw the participation of several Moroccan artists and directors, including “Bouchra Ahrish”, “Amal Al-Tamar”, “Sanaa Mouziane”, president of the festival jury, the Moroccan director “Ahed Bensouda” and “the Moroccan Artist », Zakaria Atfi. Several Moroccan films participating in the festival and dealing with the theme of immigration and its relations with a certain number of social and economic phenomena were crowned and prizes were distributed to the crowned artists.
The session was also an opportunity to attend a number of people interested in the Moroccan cinematographic issue and members of the Moroccan community residing in Utrecht, where art has had an impact and an impact also, through the rebirth of the Palestinian artist Tim Zaid, at this closing ceremony. with songs on Taqasim Oud, which brought back the nostalgia of songs from the Palestinian pioneer era.
For her part, Bouchra Ahrish considered the festival as an opportunity to promote the creativity of Moroccans, calling for creating and strengthening opportunities for communication with Moroccans abroad and even with foreigners with the aim of cooperation and change in stereotypes that characterize relationships between individuals.
The Heba Press camera was present during this event and prepared the following report:
