Fez — “Love in Dakhla” topped the fiction feature competition to take the Sizang d’Or, according to Ivorian coverage of the closing ceremony.
The FACAS (Festival Africain du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel des Savanes) concluded on September 5 in Korhogo, with organizers positioning the event as a regional showcase for African filmmaking.
The film follows two close friends—Majda, recovering from cancer, and Hasna, rebuilding after marital fraud—who travel to Dakhla seeking spiritual balance.
The project was written by Abdelilah Hamdouchi, produced by ALS Media, and originated from an original idea by Zine Charaf. It features Fatima Ezzahra Baladi, Rita Berrada, Mohamed Bouchait, Ghali Graimiche, Youssef Ben Hayoune, and Youssef Arabi.
The FACAS designates the Sizang d’Or as its grand prix, making the award a significant benchmark for festival recognition in West Africa.
For Morocco, the win a steady uptick in festival visibility for culturally rooted, location-driven stories. For Dakhla in particular, it reinforces the city’s growing profile beyond tourism—as a production-friendly site with cinematic scale and distinctive natural light.
The project benefited from support through Morocco’s national film fund administered by the Centre Cinématographique Marocain (CCM), which has prioritized feature development with strong regional identities. A prior funding list shows “Un Amour à Dakhla” (the film’s French title) receiving an advance on receipts during development, with Hamdouchi attached to the screenplay and Brahimi set to direct.
As FACAS positions itself among emerging regional platforms, the festival’s dates, categories, and award structure—spanning fiction and documentary features and shorts—offer Moroccan producers additional pathways to reach pan-African audiences. The festival’s official program lists the Sizang d’Or as the grand prize and confirms Korhogo as the host city for the 2025 edition.
