“Of the films, concerts et animations will celebrate this common cultural heritage, offering the public a unique opportunity to discover or revisit the impact of these links on our society through art,” indicates, on the website of the festival, Bernadette Lambrechtsgeneral administrator of the French Community Commissionwho co-organizes this event with the association Cinemamedin collaboration with the Brussels Center for Intercultural Action (CBAI).
The festival will notably see the participation in official competition of feature film “Everybody Loves Touda” from the director Nabil Ayouch. The film, which features the character of Touda, who dreams of becoming Sheikha, performing songs of resistance, love and emancipation, won several international awards and was selected to represent the Morocco to Oscars 2025in the “Best international film” category.
The “RêVolution” competition, dedicated to the challenges of youth, will be marked by the participation of the film documentary “Since I was born” by the Moroccan director Jawad Ghalibwhich questions the condition of certain young girls in isolated regions of Morocco.
Others Moroccan films or relating to the Moroccan community abroad will also be there. In the “Court favorites” section, we find the short films “Samia” of Selma Alaoui et Bruno Tracq et “Bye Bye Benz Benz” of Mamoun Rtal Bennani et Jules Rouffiolwhile the “MeDoc” section dedicated to documentaries will see the screening of “Hello Gnawa” of Sebastian Strycharski and “The Invisible Voices” of Laila Amezian.
The films “the animal” of Sofia Alaoui“loud and clear” by Nabil Ayouch and “Mine“” of Samira El Mouzghibati will also be screened during this festival, which will open with “BXL”, first feature film by Monir and Ish Aït Hamoudepicting the integration journey of two brothers of Moroccan origin in Bruxelles.
Several other cultural events will be organized alongside this festival, including the festival “Chaabi habibi”, worn by the singer Laila Amezian and dedicated to patrimoine musical chaabi from Morocco. He explores this ancestral musical universe through its practice by the women of the diaspora from Belgium.
This 24th edition of Cinemamed will also offer free concerts, expositionsschool sessions and a market of Mediterranean flavors run by Brussels associations.
