Every winter of each year the International Film Festival of Marrakesh is held for a stretch of four days. It is renowned for its prestige in terms of cinematographic production and is comparable to the Cannes film festival in the south of France. The Marrakesh Film Festival was established in 2001 and has become Morocco’s largest annual event for the medium of film, which is increasingly gaining recognition as an art form.The International Film Festival of Marrakesh is a one of the largest events devoted to film in Morocco; a location of the principal photography of many international productions. The jury of the festival gathers film directors, producers, actors, distributors, journalists and personalities from all over the world and endeavors to reward the best Moroccan and foreign productions of feature films and short films. The festival is chaired by Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco.
Apart from being a popular source of entertainment, the films shown at Marrakesh’s International Film Festival are used as a powerful tool for educating, and even indoctrinating, the public. Today, the cinema industry is very important to Morocco and production standards are maintained at a very high level.
Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio or Bollywood superstars like Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan or Egyptians popular movie actors Nour Shrif, Yousra were all guests of honor at different opening galas of Marrakesh Film Festival. Previous editions of the festival have attracted leading Hollywood film directors, such as Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, whose film “Kundun”, based on the life and writings of the Dalai Lama, was filmed at the Atlas Studios in Ouarzazate, Morocco.
Morocco has also been the setting for famous films such as David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Othello” which was directed by Orson Welles. By attracting film makers from all over the world, The International Film Festival of Marrakesh promotes Morocco’s many natural and historical sites in an effort to attract further international movie productions. Morocco’s own developing film and travel industry benefit from the festival and interaction with film makers from other countries.
This year Marrakesh International Film Festival organizers score Martil Scorsese who will serve as jury prexy of the feature film competition.
Over the years, Scorsese has built a close relationship with Marrakesh and has contributed widely to raise its international profile. In 2005, he was feted with a career homage. Two years later, he was back to present “The Aviator” and host a masterclass. Scorsese has already lensed two films in Morocco: “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Kundun.” “I have made two films in Morocco, during which time I came to admire the spirit of the Moroccan people and the beauty of their culture. I am eager to discover the movies coming from all around the world to this unique festival,” commented Scorsese, whose latest film, “The Wolf of Wall Street” will roll out on Nov. 14. He added “I’m very happy to be this year’s jury president, I have made two films in Morocco, during which time I came to admire the spirit of the Moroccan people and the beauty of their culture. I am eager to discover the movies coming from all around the world to this unique festival.” The festival will take place Nov. 29–Dec. 7, 2013. – Eurasia Review
