Marrakech.. .. For the first time in the film festival's history, a Moroccan film won the gold star

 

Asmae elmoudir and jessica chastain 
source: MARRAKECH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVA

Moroccan director Asma El Modair won the gold star at the 20th International Film Festival in Marrakesh, which was chaired by American actress Jessica Chastain, where 14 films participated in the official competition.

This is the first time in the history of the Marrakesh International Film Festival that the gold star returns to a Moroccan film.

Moroccan director Asmaa El Moudir expressed her happiness after her film “The Mother of All Lies,” won the Golden Star (Grand Prize) at the 20th session of the International Film Festival in Marrakesh.

Moroccan director Asmaa El Moudir confirmed that she is dedicating this grand prize to King Mohammed VI.

The film “The Mother of All Lies” combines the personal story of director Asmaa El Moudir with a national story that Moroccans lived during a period known as the “Years of Lead.”

In this film, the director touched on the events of the Years of Lead, which began in 1981 in Casablanca and witnessed the largest uprising against the high cost of living that claimed the lives of Moroccans who went out to struggle to improve their social conditions, only to find themselves lifeless bodies on the ground, shot by bullets, or inside detention centers whose death was postponed by suffocation. Due to overcrowding.

The jury award went equally to the films “Gangs” by Kamal Azraq (Morocco) and “Bye Bye Tiberias ” by Lina Sawalem (Palestine). Knowing that these three crowned films had previously participated in the “Atlas Workshops” program, the festival’s film industry program that was established in 2018, confirms its role as an important platform for supporting new cinematic talents from the Arab world and Africa.

It is worth noting that the jury for the twentieth session of the festival consisted of eight personalities from five continents, headed by Jessica Chastain. These include the French-Iranian actress Zar Amir, the French actress Camille Cottan, the Australian actor and director Joel Edgerton, the British director Joanna Hook, the American director Dee Rees, the Swedish director of Egyptian origin Tariq Saleh, and the Swedish actor Alexander. Skarsgård, and the French-Moroccan writer Leila Slimani.