The announcement was made by the president of the jury for this edition, Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino. After nine days, the winners came to close an edition which was particularly rich in emotions, between powerful speeches, passionate debates and the increased presence of big names in world cinema. An edition which was also marked by the fervor of the public and which recorded the record number of 40,000 spectators in the cinemas, including 7,500 children and adolescents as part of the Young Audience and Family operation, the organizers announced in a press release. .
Directed by Scandar Copti, Happy Holidays, Gold Star of the 21st edition of the Marrakech Festival, is a contemporary drama which takes place in Haifa and which will, from a minor incident, link the destiny of four characters and highlight the complex relationships between men and women, generations and cultures, underlines the same source.
The jury prize was awarded ex aequo to La Quinta (The Cottage) by Silvina Schnicer (Argentina) and The Village Next to Paradise by Mo Harawe (Somalia), the text continues, adding that the directing prize goes to Damian Kocur for his film Under the Volcano (Poland).
A double prize for female interpretation was awarded to Manar Shehab and Wafaa Aoun for their performances in Happy Holidays by Scandar Copti (Palestine). The male performance prize went to Roman Lutskyi for his role in Under The Volcano by Damian Kocur (Poland).
The jury for this new edition of the Marrakech Festival brought together 9 personalities from 9 different countries representing 6 continents. To decide between the films in the competition, Luca Guadagnino was surrounded by the Iranian director Ali Abbasi, the Indian director Zoya Akhtar, the American actress Patricia Arquette, the Belgian actress Virginie Efira, the Australian actor Jacob Elordi, the actor British – American Andrew Garfield, Moroccan actress Nadia Kounda, and Argentinian director Santiago Miter.
Faithful to its tradition, the Marrakech Film Festival paid tribute to emblematic figures of Moroccan and world cinema.
For this 21st edition, a vibrant tribute was paid to the late Naïma Elmcherqui. An evening rich in emotions where filmmakers from all generations came to express their love and admiration for the deceased.
On this occasion, Yasmine Khayat, her daughter, welcomed the festival’s initiative to pay tribute to her mother.
“Many of you came to tell us that we are not alone, that you share our pain at having lost her and above all that you are proud like us to have known her, loved and worked with,” she said on this occasion. declared.
Another great moment of this 21st edition, the tribute paid to Sean Penn, sacred monster of world cinema. Receiving the Gold Star from Italian actress Valeria Golino, Sean Penn expressed his gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid and Morocco. True to himself and his journey, Sean Penn delivered a speech that left its mark. “Art is never neutral. I encourage everyone to be politically incorrect, embrace diversity and continue telling stories,” he said.
The Festival also paid a moving tribute to David Cronenberg, celebrating his exceptional cinematic legacy. “It is for me a great honor to be part of those who, through their cinematographic art, have tried to give meaning to this world and to our mutually dependent existences,” he noted in particular in his speech at the Palais of the Marrakech Congresses.
-This 21st edition of the Marrakech Festival allowed film buffs and the public to meet stars and cinema professionals from all over the world. 18 of them participated in the “Conversation” program. A record since the creation of the Festival. Intense moments of exchange, debate and transmission since the invited personalities shared their vision of cinema and provided their advice and recommendations for the students, present in large numbers, and for the young generation of filmmakers, reports the same source.
From the second day of the Festival, the stage of the Meydene Theater saw personalities parade, most of whom had won awards at the Oscars, the Golden Globes, as well as at the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival and the Berlinale: American director, screenwriter and producer Tim Burton, Canadian director and screenwriter David Cronenberg, Mexican director, screenwriter and producer Alfonso Cuarón, American director and screenwriter Ava DuVernay, American director and screenwriter Todd Haynes, Australian director and screenwriter Justin Kurzel, French director and screenwriter François Ozon, British actress Gemma Arterton, American actor and director Sean Penn, Iranian director, screenwriter and producer Mohammad Rasoulof, Brazilian director and screenwriter Walter Salles, the Russian director and screenwriter Kirill Serebrennikov, Mauritanian director and screenwriter Abderrahmane Sissako and French director and screenwriter Justine Triet, Moroccan filmmakers Alaa Eddine Aljem, Yasmine Benkiran, Ismaël El Iraki and Kamal Lazraq.
Like every year, the programming for this 21st edition made it possible to discover and explore extremely varied cinematographic expressions. In total, 71 films from 32 countries, divided into 6 sections, were screened in the different halls of the Festival in Marrakech.
Among this selection, 12 films benefited from the support of the Ateliers de l’Atlas, the industry talent development program initiated by the Festival in 2018.
Note that “The Village Next to Paradise” by Mo Harawe (Somalia), which received the Jury Prize on Saturday evening in Marrakech, comes from the Ateliers de l’Atlas.
For the seventh consecutive year, the Atlas Workshops brought together 340 international professionals around 27 film projects in development or filming, selected from 320 applications received from the African continent and the Arab world. This promotion was, for the first time, sponsored by the great American director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, The Bikeriders, etc.).
During this latest edition, the platform expanded its support programs for greater impact. With the aim of supporting the development of the Moroccan film industry ecosystem, the Festival notably initiated the Atlas Station program, intended to improve the skills of young Moroccan directors and producers wishing to open up internationally, in order to boost the development of their projects. Ten young national talents were able to benefit from this initiative and received certificates of excellence during the closing ceremony of the Atlas Workshops.
Like all the previous ones, the 21st edition of the Marrakech Festival saw a very good participation of Moroccan professionals who numbered 300 and very significant media coverage. 170 media outlets were accredited, represented by 390 journalists, cameramen, JRIs and national and international photographers, from all continents.
Faithful to its social and medical commitment, the Marrakech International Film Festival Foundation, under the Effective Presidency of His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, also organized a new campaign to fight blindness, from December 2 to 6, 2024 in Tahannaout.
Carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the Hassan II Ophthalmology Foundation, this new campaign mainly targeted the affected populations of the Al Haouz region who were able to benefit from medical consultations and operations. surgical procedures, distribution of glasses and daily ophthalmo-pediatric consultations for the benefit of children in Koranic schools and orphanages in the region as well as children with reduced mobility, by offering them treatment adapted medical and optical, concludes the press release.
