(Marrakech) International film stars converge on Friday in Morocco to launch one of the largest film festivals in the Arab world, in a tense context with the war between Israel and Hamas and the demonstrations which have ravaged the region for nearly two month.
Directors Martin Scorsese and Richard Linklater as well as actors Jessica Chastain and Mads Mikkelsen are expected in Marrakech for a festival that Moroccan Prince Moulay Rachid described as “a bastion of peace that brings people together”.
The prince, who heads the foundation responsible for the festival, said in a statement that the festival was an “invitation to discovery, empathy and sharing”, recalling the earthquake in Morocco in September and the catalog of films and Moroccan filmmakers on the program.
The Marrakech International Film Festival, as well as the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, scheduled to open next week, are going ahead despite the war in Gaza. This contrasts with the Cairo International Film Festival and Carthage Film Days in Tunisia, both of which were canceled due to the war.
The festival opens Friday with the action comedy Hit Man by Richard Linklater. More than 70 other films will be screened, including Michel Franco’s Memory starring Jessica Chastain, and Matteo Garrone’s Italian immigration drama Io Capitano.
Mads Mikkelsen, known for having played in Another Round (Alcootest) and Casino Royale, will receive a career award alongside Moroccan actor-director Faouzi Bensaïdi, whose film Déserts is also screened at the festival.
Martin Scorsese will chair the festival’s Atlas Workshops, an initiative designed to screen films or feature films in progress by emerging Arab and Moroccan filmmakers.
The festival is scheduled to run through December 2.
