The 21st edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival is set to run from November 29th to December 7th and a highlight of the event is the Atlas Workshops, which, in just seven years, has evolved into a vital platform for fostering the next generation of Moroccan, Arab, and African filmmakers, many of whom have since premiered at A-list film fests such as Berlin, Cannes and Venice. This year, filmmaker Jeff Nichols from Little Rock, Arkansas, takes on the role of patron, sharing his expertise and career trajectory experiences with participants. Of the 27 selected projects selected this year we have a split of 17 projects in development and 10 films in production or post-production from 13 countries across the African continent and the Arab world. Of the projects in early development, French-Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker Lina Soualem (Bye Bye Tiberias) will move into fiction with what would be her debut project in Alicante.
Among the quartet of film projects (in prod or post) who are eyeing major film festival showcases next year, we have Palestinian filmmakers Tarzan & Arab Nasser’s third feature Once Upon a Time in Gaza and the backbreaking recently completed latest from fellow countrywomen Cherien Dabis and All That’s Left of You. We also have the sophomore feature by Meryem Benm’Barek — who has just completed shooting on Behind the Palm Trees. Also worth noting is the much buzzed about film by Egyptian filmmaker Morad Mostafa — his debut feature Aisha Can’t Fly Away has received a lot of critical support along the way. Here are the projects/films selected for the Atlas Workshops.
PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT
Alicante – Lina Soualem (Algeria) – 1st fiction film
Flowers of the Dead (Flôr di Finado) – Nuno Miranda (Cabo Verde) – 1st film
Ici Repose – Moly Kane (Senegal) – 1st film
The Last Beast of Atlas – Walid Messnaoui (Morocco) – 1st film
Lucky Girl (Chanceuse) – Linda Lô (Senegal) – 1st film
The Orange Grove – Murad Abu Eisheh (Jordan) – 1st film
Princesse Téné – Fabien Dao (Burkina Faso) – 1st film
Pure Madness (Pure Folie) – Inès Arsi (Tunisia) | Doc – 1st film
Samir, The Accidental Spy (Samir, espion malgré lui) – Charlotte Rabate (Syria) – 1st film
The Shelter (Le refuge) – Talal Selhami (Morocco) – 3rd film
The Source (Al Madda) – Mouloud Ouyahia (Algeria) – 1st film
Your Turn, 203 (À vous, 203) – Cynthia Sawma (Lebanon) – 1st film
ATLAS CLOSE-UPS (Moroccan projects in development)
And Still I Rise (À balles perdues, mon âme gagnée) – Djanis Bouzyani (Morocco) | Doc – 1st film
Dar Marjana – Lamia Lazrak (Morocco) | Doc – 1st film
Fatwa – Mohamed El Badaoui (Morocco) – 4th film
The Field (Le champ) – Mohamed Bouhari (Morocco) – 1st film
The Nours (Les frères Nour) – Yassine Iguenfer (Morocco) – 1st film
FILMS IN PRODUCTION OR POST-PRODUCTION
Aisha Can’t Fly Away – Morad Mostafa (Egypt) – 1st film
All That’s Left of You – Cherien Dabis (Palestine) – 3rd film
Bardi – Tala Hadid (Morocco) – 3rd film
Behind the Palm Trees – Meryem Benm’Barek (Morocco) – 2nd film (see pic above)
Chronicles from the Siege – Abdallah AlKhatib (Palestine) – 2nd film
In the Shadows of Good Fortune – Babatunde Apalowo (Nigeria) – 2nd film
It’s a Sad and Beautiful World – Cyril Aris (Lebanon) – 1st fiction film
Laundry (Uhlanjululo) – Zamo Mkhwanazi (South Africa) – 1st film
Once Upon a Time in Gaza – Tarzan & Arab Nasser (Palestine) – 3rd film
ATLAS FILM SHOWCASE (film in final stages of editing and seeking a festival premiere)
El Sett – Marwan Hamed (Egypt)
