HIBAPRESS – Ahmed Al-Musa'id
Last Monday evening, September 29th, the 14th International Maghrebi Film Festival in Oujda was inaugurated at the Mohammed VI Theater, which is organized until October 5th, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
This cinematic event, organized under the slogan "From the cinema screen, bridges are built and issues are told," by the initiative of the "Ciné Maghreb" association, seeks to be a platform this year where artistic creativity, thought, and openness to the world meet. The opening ceremony, which brought together a number of Moroccan and foreign filmmakers and artists, was attended by the Secretary-General of the Eastern Region, elected officials, and officials. On this occasion, established names in the national and international artistic scene were honored, including the great Lebanese musician Marcel Khalife, a pioneer of committed Arabic song, the Moroccan actor Rabie El-Kati, an icon of the Moroccan screen, and the actress Soumaya Akaboun, who is paving her way to international recognition. The opening ceremony of this edition, during which 18 films (long and short) will be screened in the official competition, also witnessed the presentation of the jury members. This concerns the long film jury, headed by the Moroccan academic Omar Hali, with the Burkinabe actress and director Maimouna N’Diaye; the American academic Florence Martin, a specialist in cinema and media studies; the French producer Anabelle Thomas, and the French actor and screenwriter Olivier Loustau. As for the short film jury, it is headed by the Moroccan producer and screenwriter Mohamed Bouzko, along with the Tunisian director and writer Sonia Chamkhi, the Jordanian director and writer specializing in cinema and artificial intelligence Ahmed Mohammed Al-Faleh, and the Kazakhstani actress Samal Yeslyamova, winner of the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018. These activities include, in particular, book signing sessions, a central symposium on the slogan of this edition, and a round table on the cultural and creative industries in the Eastern region, in addition to training workshops and "masterclasses."
