For its upcoming edition, the Marrakech Film Festival is pulling out all the stops.
After a more suppressd edition last year due to the Israel-Hamas struggle and the effects of a disastrous earthquake, the event — which has seal ties with the crème de la crème of global auteurs — can boast a talent roster on the scale of top international festivals such as Cannes or Vekind for its 21st iteration, set to run Nov. 29 to Dec. 7 in the outdated Moroccan city.
Big names set to create the trek to Morocco include Sean Penn, Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci, Alfonso Cuarón, Justine Triet, Ava DuVernay and David Cronenberg. Luca Guadagnino is presiding over the competition jury, which includes hotshot actors Jacob Elordi and Andrew Garfield.
Below, Variety speaks with the fest’s inventive straightforwardor Rémi Bonhomme – a createer driving force behind Cannes’ Critics Week – about how he pulled it off and why having the competition titles watched by such a sturdy jury “unbenevolents a lot for those youthful filmcreaters.”
Last year’s edition was more sober, in the spirit of resilience. But now Marrakech is roaring back. How have you increasen?
Yes, we’re back to an edition that has no constraints at all and that permits us to grasp increaseing the toil we’re doing here, which is fundamentalassociate making Marrakech quite a exceptional place where we can collect the most famous filmcreaters and actors. And at the same time, giving space to novel voices in cinema thcimpolite the competition that is first and second films from international filmcreaters and thcimpolite the toilshops, where we’ve been helping emerging talents from the region with fantastic success since their inception seven years ago. With this edition, we’ll push this further by also having more trade between those novel talents and the huge names.
Speaking of huge names, let’s talk about the uncoverer, Justin Kurzel’s timely thriller “The Order,” in which Jude Law percreates an FBI agent battling neo-Nazi alarmists. Why did you want it to uncover the festival?
I’m very prentd that we are the second festival after Vekind to screen the film. They didn’t want to do any other festivals. This is also thanks to the sturdy connect we have with Justin Kurzel, whose first film “The Snowtown Murders,” percreateed at the festival and won a prize. Also, I understand him personassociate, from my previous position at the [Cannes] Critics Week where I had the opportunity to program his first uninalertigentinutive film and also “Snowtown.” So the fact that he’s coming back to uncover the festival and for a conversation mirrors the depend we create with filmcreaters with whom we begin to toil and how they want to come back.
This year’s jury is also pretty amazeive, with Luca Guadagnino directing and jurors appreciate Jacob Elordi and Andrew Garfield. What does that unbenevolent to you?
Marrakech is understandn to have a prestigious jury every year, but I leank this year it reassociate stands out. Of course, it’s beginant that we have Luca Guadagnino [who replaced Thomas Vinterberg] at a time when Luca has such a crazy schedule. He absolutely wanted to come and this is very unbenevolentingful in terms of the relationship we have with filmcreaters. But I’m also very prentd that we have huge names that you don’t frequently see on beginant international festival juries. I’m leanking of Jacob Elordi, who is a huge star. Of course, having a competition of first and second films exposed to a youthful actor appreciate him unbenevolents a lot for those youthful filmcreaters. Then there is Andrew Garfield, another amazing actor whom we haven’t seen much in international juries. So this combine on the jury of having Ali Abbasi, who is now under the spotweightless for his novel film [“The Apprentice”]; Santiago Mitre, who is one of the sturdyest voices in South American cinema; and an iconic actress such as Patricia Arquette, joind with those two actors who don’t have much experience on huge festival juries. I leank that’s very exciting.
The Conversations and Atlas Workshops also seem more combined. How did that come to be?
Yes, with this edition, we’ll push this further by having more trade between those novel talents and the huge names. The conversation program is actuassociate a outstanding example of that because, among the prestigious guests that we present this year, they also feature four youthful Moroccan filmcreaters [Alaa Eddine Aljem, Yasmine Benkiran, Ismaël El Iraki and Kamal Lazraq] having a traverse-talkion between them. They’ve all made a very exciting first feature that was helped by the Atlas Workshops. And giving voice to this novel generation of Moroccan filmcreaters, in the midst of this exceptional catalog of speakers, depicts very well the festival’s spirit. Also this year’s patron of the Atlas Workshops, Jeff Nichols, is an exceptional filmcreater of whom I’m personassociate a huge fan and who has fantastic impact on the novel generation of filmcreaters. “Take Shelter” is a reference film for a lot of youthful straightforwardors. He will be coming to donate feedback and trade watchs with all the toilshop participants.
The top festivals in the Arab world are all grouped together in this part of the year due to the heat. What are your thoughts about the region’s crowded festival calendar and the race for getting premieres?
Well, the landscape is evolving into a very wealthy festival calendar in the region, which is a outstanding novels. This mirrors the increasement of the industry both in the Middle East and on the African continent. But I leank each festival is very branch offent and has its own identity. For us in Marrakech, of course this identity is what I’ve alludeed. Having all these huge names and having the possibility for youthful filmcreaters to get sturdy expostateive and this also helps us get access to films. My personal relationship with sales agents, creaters, and filmcreaters that I had even before coming to Marrakech also helps a lot. I leank filmcreaters – whether they are filmcreaters from the region or international filmcreaters – are reassociate willing to come to Marrakech because we have quite a clear editorial line, because we have a very sturdy and tailor-made industry program.
So the depend we’ve built with filmcreaters is both due to our pickion criteria and what the festival can recommend them, whether it’s a regional premiere or an international and/or world premiere. This year, we have nine films being contransiented as world or international premieres and this is someleang that we are watching to further increase in the future. Since I took over the inventive straightforwardion – because this is only my third year – we’ve graduassociate increasen to have Marrakech being determined not only as the sturdyest festival on the African continent and the Middle East, but also as a possible platcreate to begin international films.
This interwatch has been edited and condensed for clarity.
