The president of the jury Luca Guadagnino © Mounir Mehimdate.
“I will never forget the first time I came to Marrakech,” he confided. It was more than twenty years ago, my friend Valentina Cervi was a member of the short film jury and she invited me. The first time I landed in the big city of Marrakech, I felt exceptional magic and sensations. It was for this extraordinary festival and from then on, this city and cinema were inseparably linked for me. I feel half Moroccan. It is for me an immense honor to chair the jury for this 21st edition. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the great films and meeting all the wonderful filmmakers there,” he said.
Luca Guadagnino subsequently revealed the names of the jury members, who reflect the diversity and universality of the cinema celebrated in Marrakech. Among them, Virginie Efira, renowned Belgian actress, Ali Abbasi, renowned Iranian director, Zoya Akhtar, Indian filmmaker, Patricia Arquette, Oscar-winning American actress, Jacob Elordi, young Australian star, Andrew Garfield, acclaimed British-American actor, Nadia Kounda, Moroccan actress, and Santiago Miter, Argentinian director.
The public then attended the screening of the opening film “The order” (released in 2024) in the presence of its director Justin Kurzel. Written by Zach Baylin, the screenplay for the American thriller is based on the book The Silent Brotherhood by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, published in 1989, about the white supremacist group The Order active in the United States during the 1980s. on stage Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult was presented in competition at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
