The 20th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival has announced its selection, opening with Richard Linklater’s comedy Hit Man.
The event, running from November 24 to December 24, will unfold two months after the devastating earthquake in the nearby Atlas Mountains in September, which killed more than 2,000 people.
The management team has decided to push on with the event to support Marrakech, which suffered very little damage and relies heavily on tourism for its livelihood.
Hit Man will play as part of the festival’s six picture red carpet Gala selection which also includes Matteo Garrone’s Italian Oscar entry Me Captain and Michel Franco’s Memory.
Previously announced high-profile guests due to attend this year include Martin Scorsese, who will act as a mentor to emerging filmmakers attending the industry-focused Atlas Workshops, and Jessica Chastain as president of the jury.
She will be joined by Iranian actress and director Zar Amir, French actress Camille Cottin, Australian director Joel Edgerton, UK director Joanna Hogg, Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård, Moroccan writer Leïla Slimani, U.S. director Dee Rees and Swedish-Egyptian director Tarik Saleh.
The Official Competition, focused on first and second features, will put the spotlight on 14 titles, including Oscar entries, Palestinian director Lina Soualem’s Bye Bye Tiberias, which won Best Documentary at the London Film Festival last month, and Moroccan filmmaker El Moudir’s Cannes prize winner Mother Of All Lies.
The Special Screenings sidebar will showcase 16 films that have made their mark on the festival circuit this year including Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s Goodbye Julia and Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland’s Venice Jury Prize winning migrant drama Green Border.
Other key sections include the 11th Continent programme, featuring 13 innovative drama and documentary films, the Panorama of Moroccan Cinema, Cinema for Young Audiences, and the popular Jemaa El Fna screenings in Marrakech’s historic landmark square.
FULL LIST OF SELECTED FILMS
OFFICIAL COMPETITION
Banel & Adama
Dir. Ramata-Toulaye Sy
Bye Bye Tiberias
Dir. Lina Soualem
City Of Wind
Dir. Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Disco Afrika: a malagasy story
Dir. Luck Razanajaona
Dormitory
Dir. Nehir Tuna
Excursion
Dir. Una Gunjak
Hounds
Dir. Kamal Lazraq
The Mother Of All lies
Dir. Asmae El Moudir
The Other Son
Dir. Juan Sebastián Quebrada
Phantom Youth
Dir. Luàna Bajrami
Prison In The Andes
Dir. Felipe Carmona
Silent Roar
Dir. Johnny Barrington
Toll
Dir. Carolina Markowicz
Tuesday
Dir. Daina O. Pusič
GALA SCREENINGS
Deserts
Dir. Faouzi Bensaïdi
Hit Man
Dir. Richard Linklater
The Holdovers
Dir. Alexander Payne
Limbo
Dir. Ivan Sen / Australia
Making of
Dir. Cédric Kahn
Me Captain
Dir. Matteo Garrone
Memory
Dir. Michel Franco
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
About Dried Grasses
Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Animalia
Dir. Sofia Alaoui
The Beast
Dir.Bertrand Bonello
Behind The Mountains
Dir. Mohamed Ben Attia
La Chimera
Dir. Alice Rohrwacher
Europa
Dir. Sudabeh Mortezai
Explanation For Everything
Dir. Gabor Reisz
Goodbye Julia
Dir. Mohamed Kordofani
Green Border
Dir. Agnieszka Holland
Les Indésirables
Dir. Ladj Ly
Matchet
Dir. Sonia Ben Slama
The Nature Of Love
Dir, Monia Chokri
The Promised Land
Dir. Nikolaj Arcel
Sarafina!
Dir. Darrel James Rood
Sidonie In Japan
Dir. Élise Girard
Terrestrial Verses
Dir. Ali Asgari & Alireza Khatami
THE 11TH CONTINENT
Between Revolutions
Dir. Vlad Petri
The Bride
Dir. Myriam Birara
Casablanca
Dir. Adriano Valerio
Coconut Head Generation
Dir. Alain Kassanda
The Dupes
Dir. Tewfik Saleh
Eureka
Dir. Lisandro Alonso
Foremost By Night
Dir. Víctor Iriarte
A Golden Life
Dir. Boubacar Sangaré
The Human Surge 3
Dir. Eduardo William
Little Girl Blue
Dir. Mona Achache
Mambar Pierrette
Dir. Rosine Mbakam
Phantom Beirut
Dir. Ghassan Salhab
Pictures of Ghosts
Dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
PANORAMA OF MOROCCAN CINEMA
Birdland (Indivision)
Dir. Leila Kilani
Mora Is Here
Dir. Khalil Zairi
Moroccan Badass Girl
Dir. Hicham Lasri
My Dad Is Not Dead
Dir. dil El Fadili
My Thursday Souk
Dir. Izza Edery-Génini
Triple A
Dir. Jihane El Bahhar
CINEMA FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
The Camel And The Miller
Dir. Abdollah Alimorad
Dounia And The Princess Of Aleppo
Dir. Marya Zarif & André Kadi
Mica
Dir. Ismaël Ferroukhi
Nina And The Hedgehog’s Secret
Dir. Alain Gagnol & Jean-Loup Felicioli
No Love Lost
Dir Erwan Le Duc
The Secret World Of Arrietty
Dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi
PLACE JEMAA EL FNA
Blue Elephant 2
Dir. Marwan Hamed
Dados
Dir. Abdelouahed Mjahed
Green Card
Dir. Hicham Regragui
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
Dir. James Mangold
Pathaan
Dir. Siddharth Anand
Shine A Light
Dir. Martin Scorsese
Volubilis
Dir. Faouzi Bensaïdi
Voy! Voy! Voy!
Dir. Omar Hilal
