Marrakech – The Marrakech International Film Festival has announced the official selection of films for its 22nd edition, set to take place from November 28 to December 6.

The program spans several sections, including the Official Competition, Gala Screenings, Horizons, The 11th Continent, Panorama of Moroccan Cinema, Young Audience & Family Screenings, and a series of tribute films. 

This year’s edition will feature eight world premieres, nine films supported by the Atlas Workshops, the festival’s industry development program, and 14 films representing their countries in the Oscars race.

The Official Competition will focus on emerging voices in global cinema, with 14 feature films – all first or second works – vying for the festival’s Golden Star, awarded by a jury chaired by acclaimed Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho. 

The selected works highlight a new generation of directors tackling contemporary injustices and human stories with bold expression and artistic freedom.

Among them is “Behind the Palm Trees” by Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani, premiering globally with a critical take on class dynamics and colonial legacies, and “First Light” by Australia’s James J. Robinson, exploring a nun’s crisis of faith amid corruption. 

Other entries revisit political turning points, such as “Before a Bright Day” (Taiwan), “My Father’s Shadow” (Nigeria), and “The Laundry” (South Africa).

Female-led narratives also stand out, with “Sky Without Land” (Areej Sakhiri), “Broken Voices” (Ondrej Provaznik), and “Aisha Can’t Fly” (Morad Mostafa). 

Meanwhile, the documentaries “Memory” (Vladlena Sandu) and “Baba and Gaddafi” (Jehane K.) reconstruct personal histories from Chechnya and Libya through family memories.

The Gala Screenings will feature nine major global releases, opening with “The Dead Man’s Wire” by Gus Van Sant, a dark comedy critiquing media and capitalism. Also premiering is Maryam Touzani’s “Zanka Malaga”, starring Carmen Maura as a Spanish woman in Tangier.

Tribute screenings will include Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” and “Private Life” starring Jodie Foster, directed by Rebecca Zlotowski. 

Two highly anticipated Arab world premieres will also take place: “Al-Sitt” by Marwan Hamed, a biopic of the legendary Umm Kulthum starring Mona Zaki, and “Sofia” by Dhafer L’Abidine, who both directs and stars.

A special evening will be dedicated to Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” while Neeraj Ghaywan’s “Homecoming,” featuring Bollywood actors Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa, will also screen. 

The festival will close with “Palestine 36” by Annemarie Jacir, which portrays a defining chapter of Palestinian history with a stellar Arab cast.

The Horizons section will present 19 contemporary films, mixing works by masters such as Park Chan-wook, Claire Denis, Jim Jarmusch, Jafar Panahi, and Richard Linklater with new voices like Ali Asgari, Simón Mesa Soto, and Melissa Guedet. 

Highlights include “What’s Left of You” by Cherien Dabis, “Kingdom of Reeds” by Hassan Hadi, “Once Upon a Time in Gaza” by Arab and Tarzan Nasser, and “The Sound of Hind Rajab” by Kaouther Ben Hania.

The 11th Continent section will feature 15 films, both narrative and documentary, offering formally daring, genre-defying works by Masoud Bakhshi, Lucrecia Martel, Oliver Laxe, Kamal Aljafari, Dima El Horr, and Lana Daher. Restored Arab classics such as Ahmed Bouanani’s “The Mirage” will also be screened.

A Panorama of Moroccan Cinema will spotlight seven national films, including world premieres of “Through Moroccan Eyes” by Karim Debbagh and “The Luggage Shelf” by Abdelkrim El Fassi, with 15 other Moroccan films featured across various categories.

Finally, a Young Audience & Family program will offer 13 screenings aimed at children and teens, fostering a love for cinema. 

The festival will also host retrospectives and special screenings at Palais des Congrès, Cinema Colisée, and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, honoring this year’s distinguished guests: Jodie Foster, Guillermo del Toro, Raouia, and Hussein Fahmy.