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The Marrakech International Film Festival has introduced the creation of Atlas Programs, a brand new banner gathering all of the skilled initiatives supported by the competition basis.
The new construction will come into impact on the upcoming version working from November 28 to December 6.
Marrakech mentioned the event mirrored its want to extend its dedication to Moroccan, Arab, and African cinema by structuring its help and help applications for the brand new technology of Moroccan, Arab, and African filmmakers and producers in a transparent and coherent method.
The announcement was made towards the backdrop of the Venice Film Festival’s trade targeted Venice Production Bridge, at which Morocco is the one of many international locations of honor this 12 months.
The Atlas Programs will deal with 4 key pillars topped by the central strand of the Atlas Workshops.
Launched in 2018, the challenge incubator has developed right into a key assembly for Moroccan, Arab, and African filmmakers and producers with movies on the growth and post-production stage.
“Following their launch in 2018, Atlas Workshops established themselves very quickly as a must attend event for the region’s talents and for all international professionals who want to work with the region’s talents,” mentioned Remi Bonhomme, who’s inventive director of the Marrakech Film Festival and director of the Atlas Workshops.
“Every year, we have around ten films represented at the biggest festivals,” he added.
Buzzy competition titles on the competition circuit this 12 months which have been supported by Atlas Workshops embody Cherien Dabis’ All That’s Left of You which premiered in Sundance.
There have been additionally 4 movies in Cannes together with Erige Sehiri’s Promised Sky, which opened Un Certain Regard, and Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s Once Upon a Time in Gaza, which received the Best Director Award in the identical part.
In Venice, Cyril Aris’ A Sad and Beautiful World, which performs in Giornate degli Autori, was offered within the workshops’ work-in-progress and manufacturing showcase final 12 months.
Several applications which have been created within the wake of the Atlas Workshops are actually being built-in underneath the Atlas Programs umbrella.
They embody the Atlas Station, which was launched in 2023, and gives 10 Moroccan professionals—administrators or producers—with help aimed toward strengthening their abilities and opening up their initiatives to worldwide audiences.
The strand shall be expanded on the upcoming version to ask 5 Moroccan administrators engaged on quick movies which might be within the post-production stage. The purpose is to help rising skills who’re within the early phases of making ready their first function movies, whereas on the identical time growing the visibility of Moroccan quick movies at specialised festivals.
The competition can also be bolstering its deal with distribution by additional increasing the Atlas Distribution strand, aimed toward supporting the circulation of Moroccan, Arab, and African movies to new audiences.
Since 2023, the strand had meted out the Atlas Distribution Awards recognizing distributors who’re dedicated to supporting works from the MENA and wider African areas.
The strand shall be additional enhanced by the Atlas Distribution Meetings, a brand new four-day occasion that bringing 60 distribution professionals from the Arab world, Africa, and Europe in Marrakech.
Participating distributors will uncover worldwide movies offered as a part of the competition and Arab and African movies in post-production which might be taking part within the Atlas Workshops.
“We did a test run last year with a delegation of 20 European distributors. They really appreciated it because it’s an opportunity to discover the films we’re introducing as world premieres in the festival as well as works in development or post-production in the Atlas Workshops,” says Bonhomme.
“We got a positive response and enquiries from people to attend this year,” he continues. “I think people also really appreciate the more intimate dimension of Marrakech.”
The fourth pillar is the Atlas Press program, which was launched in 2024 to strengthen the tradition of movie criticism in Morocco.
It consists of two, complementary elements. The first gives coaching for journalists working in Morocco, who profit from a sophisticated workshop led by an knowledgeable within the discipline. The second, designed for college kids, goals to encourage careers in journalism by coaching a brand new technology of critics able to supporting the dynamism of native cinema.