The 13th edition of the International Festival of Cinema and Common Memory (FICMEC) of Nador kicked off on Tuesday evening, under the theme “The memory of heaven and earth”, and will continue until to November 10.
The opening of this edition, organized by the Center of Common Memory for Democracy and Peace bearing the name of the late Leila Meziane Benjelloun, honorary president of the festival for four years, saw the participation of artistic, political and diplomatic representatives from Morocco and abroad.
Among the guests of this event were the actors Rachid El Ouali and Jihan Kamal, the vice-president of the Chamber of Advisors, Abdelkader Salama, the former Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki, as well as Ahmed Aboutaleb, former mayor of Rotterdam, and Abdelouahab Bellouki, former Moroccan ambassador to the Netherlands. Several personalities from the cinematographic and artistic world, as well as elected officials from the city of Nador, also attended this event.
This edition, which pays tribute to the commitment of the late Mustafa Salama, one of the greatest supporters of the festival since its creation, through the prize for best short work of fiction, also honors the defenders of climate justice and living together in a healthy environment.
“Environmental protection, nationally and globally, is one of the initiatives supported by our Center,” underlined Abdeslam Boutayeb, president and founder of the Center and director of the festival.
In his opening remarks, the President noted: “We encourage everyone to continue working to preserve our planet and leave future generations a world where they can live with dignity, without lacking anything,” recalling that the pleasure of watching films should not make us forget their essential role in raising awareness of the dangers that threaten humanity.
Furthermore, Moroccan actor Rachid El Ouali stressed that this festival succeeded in bringing together filmmakers from all over the world, particularly from Latin America, around the theme of earth and sky. In this sense, he specified that the festival, in the absence of screening rooms in Nador, makes it possible to compensate for this lack.
“We live between earth and sky, and if we can spread love and peace through our films, we will have accomplished a lot,” he confided to Hespressreminding us that each artist carries a message in addition to entertaining.
The festival offers a rich program, with the screening of 8 documentary films, 7 feature-length fiction films and 14 short fiction films, representing Morocco and other countries (Brazil, Spain, Haiti, Iraq, Italy, Peru, Cuba, France, Holland, Turkey, Argentina, Honduras, Mexico, Palestine, Portugal, Switzerland and Tunisia). In addition, national films will be screened out of competition, in preparation for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Green March, scheduled for November 2025.
In addition to two international scientific conferences, this edition of the festival will offer training for the benefit of local young people on the cinema professions, led by Moroccan and foreign directors, screenwriters and professionals. Special screenings will, in this regard, be organized for students, in collaboration with the Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM) and the Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports, addressing themes related to environment, drought and natural disasters, while celebrating the Green March.
It should be noted that the opening ceremony of this international festival was also an opportunity to present the international prize “Memory for Democracy and Peace”, awarded jointly to the world photographer Sebastião Salgado and Lilia Vanish of the institute Brazilian “Terra”, as well as the Moroccan Alliance for Climate and Sustainable Development (AMCDD), for their commitment to the defense of the environment and the climate. This prize, awarded for 8 years by the Center for Common Memory for Democracy and Peace, has already been awarded to numerous international personalities.
