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Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM), scheduled on 14-22 November, is in its rendezvous today. FIFM is opening its doors to the world, but unfortunately not to Moroccan cinema-goers, bloggers, and free-lance critics and to true cinema lovers.
Evidently, if you go around Jamae El Fna,Kalaat Sraghna main road or even to Guiliz streets, one understands immediately the answer. Too many Moroccan cinema-goers are lost there to find modest hotels in order to have that chance to march on red carpet of the festival and to have that pride as Moroccans to be invited which seems to be impossible under the French management.
Yes, it is true that FIFM was bought by some French people from Paris, but the majority of Moroccans namely actors, filmmakers and cinemagoers hope that this festival becomes 100% Moroccan like Dubai and Egyptian film festivals. SNRT will sign a convention with Arte in order to produce movies in Morocco via television, states Laaghili a FIFM responsible. It is also believed that a Moroccan long feature film called Gandisha, directed by Jerome Cohen-Olivar, unknown name to Moroccan cinephiles, will participate to FIFM 8th edition.
They are "100" by Chris Martinez (Philippines), "Im Winter ein Jahr" by Caroline Link (Germany), "Sveitabruokaup" by Valdis Oskarsdottir (Iceland), "Eden" by Declan Recks (Ireland), "El nido vacio " by Daniel Burman (Argentina), "Flammen & Citronen" by Ole Christian Madsen (Denmark), "Frozen River" by Courtney Hunt, "Prince Of Broadway" by Sean Baker, "Kasky" by Aku Louhimies (Finland), "Il primo giorno d'inverno" by Mirko Locatelli (Italy), "Dixi of Tiankong" by Zhang Chi (China), "Pora Umierac" by Dorota Kedzierzawska (Poland), "Diko Pole" by Mikhail Kalatozishvili (Russia), and "Zero Bridge" by Tariq Tapa (USA & India).
The competing movies at the festival will vie for four prizes, namely the Golden Star, the Jury's prize, best female performance, and best male performance.
Chaired by American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer Barry Levinson, this year's jury is to include Sebastian Koch(German actor), Joaquim de Almeida (Portuguese actor), Hugh Hudson (Biritish director, screenwriter, and producer), Caterina Murino (Italian actress), Agusti Villaronga (Spanish director and writer), Natacha Regnier (French actress), Ghita El Khayat (Moroccan writer), and Mariama Barry (Guinean-Senegalese writer).
The 8th edition of FIFM will pay a special tribute to British, Russian, Egyptian and Moroccan cinemas.
Allal El Alaoui
