Yahoo Movies Festival Standouts and Local Flavor Mark Buzzy Marrakech Selection
Boasting a selection of 76 films from 33 countries spread across seven sections, this year’s Marrakech Film Festival will offer no shortage of cinematic treasure. Running over Nov. 11 – 19, the festival’s 19th edition will open with “Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” ahead of gala screenings of James Gray’s “Armageddon Time,” Paul Schrader’s “Master Gardener,” and Sally El Hosaini’s “The Swimmers.”
While hosting a handful of world premieres – including Anurag Kashyap’s Bollywood-flavored “Almost Love,” to be presented outdoors at Marrakech’s Jemaa El Fna Square – this year’s festival will also spotlight a number of jewels from the festival circuit.
More from Variety
Paolo Sorrentino and His Jury Talk The Magic of Cinema and Tracking the Future of Film at Marrakech
Atlas Workshops: Compelling Next Generation Projects From Morocco, Africa, the Arab World
Marrakech Film Festival Roars Back With Star-Studded Lineup and Dynamic Local Showcase
Below are fourteen standouts from this year’s program.
“Abdelinho” (dir. Hicham Ayouch) (Moroccan Panorama)
Satirical comedy “Abdelinho” follows a young Moroccan man with samba in his bones and Brazil ever on his mind. Director Hicham Ayouch’s bright crowd-pleaser is one of several finished projects to graduate from a slot at a previous edition of the Atlas Workshop to a showcase at this year’s festival.
“Alma Viva”(dir. Cristèle Alves Meira) (Competition)
Portugal’s Oscar submission, “Alma Viva” casts a bittersweet glance at the ties that bind, following a pre-adolescent girl left to mourn in solitude while her wider family tears itself apart after their matriarch’s passing. Mixing touches of autobiography with folk tales and magical realism, the film tracks a young girl with an old soul.
“Almost Love” (dir. Anurag Kashyap) (Jemaa El Fna)
Eclectic auteur Anurag Kashyap marks a musical change of pace in this tale of tragic love, which follows two sets of star-crossed on two parallel tracks. Making its world premiere in Marrakech, Kashyap’s latest effort reframes Bollywood musical conventions from a poppy and skewed perspective.
“Autobiography” (dir. Makbul Mubarak) (Competition)
A young man in search of a mentor and the older, retired general whom he serves form an ever-tightening bond of violence in Makbul Mubarak disquieting thriller. Questions of loyalty, patriarchy, and the legacy of Indonesia’s three-decade military dictatorship tinge this self-assured debut feature.
“The Blue Caftan” (dir. Maryam Touzani) (Competition)
Morocco’s own Oscar submission, “The Blue Caftan” won the Fipresci Prize out of Cannes before claiming further honors at festivals in Chicago, Vancouver and New York. Directed by Maryam Touzani and produced by Nabil Ayouch, the sensual drama confronts tradition and taboo in a tightly knit, homophobic society.
“The Damned Don’t Cry” (dir. Fyzal Boulifa) (Special Screenings)
An itinerant mother and her adolescent son are both pulled into different forms of sex work as they hit the road in search of greater stability and opportunity. Mixing social realism with family drama, Fyzal Boulifa’s sophomore feature has earned animated acclaim across the festival circuit.
“Faraway Song” (dir. Clarissa Campolina) (Competition)
An international premiere at this year’s festival, Clarissa Campolina’s first solo directorial outing follows a young, biracial woman searching for identity, agency and escape in a stifling and conservative climate. “The film dialogues with contemporary Brazil and with the issues and feelings of our time,” the director told Variety.
“Goldfishes” (dir. Abdeslam Kelai) (Moroccan Panorama)
Another graduate of the Atlas Workshops, director Abdeslam Kelai’s naturalistic drama follows three women on the outskirts of society, relying on improvisation, overlapping dialogue and tight camerawork to create a sense of full immersion into a harsh, Northern Moroccan milieu alleviated by the bonds of friendship.
“Mediterranean Fever” (dir. Maha Haj) (Gala Screenings)
Palestine’s Oscar submission and winner of the Un Certain Regard screenplay prize, Maha Haj’s “Mediterranean Fever” takes a darkly comic look at two middle-aged neighbors turned best-frenemies. “I’ve always been fascinated by friendships between men,” Haj told Variety earlier this year. “They can be different and intriguing and I wanted to play with this.”
“Muna Moto” (dir. Jean-Pierre Dikongué-Pipa) (The 11th Continent)
This brand-new restoration of a groundbreaking Cameroonian film will screen on the African continent for the time in Marrakech, making the title a real point of pride for artistic director Remi Bonhomme. “It’s very important to show how Arab and African cinema was at the forefront of the avant-garde,” he tells Variety. “Because still today this film displays great narrative modernity.”
“Riceboy Sleeps” (dir. Anthony Shim) (Competition)
Winner of the Platform Prize out of Toronto, Anthony Shim’s coming-of-age immigration drama would claim subsequent prizes in Vancouver and Busan and from the Director’s Guild of Canada, winning acclaim for its poignancy, sensitivity, and formal sophistication.
“Savage” (dir. Ahmed Abdullahi) (Competition)
Another world premiere, director Ahmed Abdullahi’s feature debut follows a single-mother struggling to raise a seven-year-old daughter while scrapping it out in the octagon as a young and promising fighter on the MMA scene.
“Summer Days” (dir. Faouzi Bensaïdi) (Moroccan Panorama)
Set on a once grand Tangiers estate and following a debt-ridden family spending one last summer together, acclaimed filmmaker Faouzi Bensaïdi’s ensemble drama makes its world premiere at this year’s festival. Sprawling in focus and concise in length, this family saga will open the Moroccan Panorama program.
“Queens” (dir. Yasmine Benkiran) (Special Screenings)
Yasmine Benkiran’s raucous road movie — about a trio of women tearing through the Moroccan landscape with the police hot on their trail – was presented first as a development title at the inaugural edition of the Atlas Workshops and then as a project in post-production at last year’s online edition. Now, the rock’n’roll ride is ready to meet its public.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
