MARRAKECHsFF Launches ‘AMANAR’ to Build Bridges for Emerging Filmmakers

The idea behind the program goes beyond simply adding another industry program to the festival. It is about what happens after an idea is born and before a film finds its way to an audience.

Aya El Maguiri

September 15, 2026

Casablanca – A film’s journey doesn’t have to end when the credits roll. With this idea in mind, Marrakech Short Film Festival (MARRAKECHsFF) has introduced “AMANAR,” a professional platform designed to connect emerging filmmakers with the wider film industry.

The initiative is developed in collaboration with the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) and the British Council, with co-funding from the European Union.

AMANAR brings together several activities under one platform, including project development, mentorship, Industry Talks, professional meetings, and Pitch Days.

Hosting many of these dynamic exchanges is the World Storytelling Cafe, serving as the official venue partner for the program.

But the idea behind AMANAR goes beyond simply adding another industry program to the festival. It is about what happens after an idea is born and before a film finds its way to an audience.

Building bridges between filmmakers and the industry

For Alexandra Balafrej, Country Director of the British Council in Morocco, the partnership reflects a wider effort to bring the Moroccan and UK film sectors closer together.

“The British Council is delighted to support the sixth edition of the Marrakech Short Film Festival as part of our wider commitment to strengthening connections between the UK and Moroccan film sectors,” Balafrej said.

She emphasized that the initiative aims to open doors for creatives on both sides, giving directors and industry insiders a shared space to sharpen their craft, forge lasting relationships, and uncover fresh avenues for joint ventures.

For her, those connections can happen in many forms, from skills development and mentorship to industry exchange and artistic dialogue.

And that’s where “AMANAR” finds its place. Rather than treating a film as a finished product once it reaches the screen, the platform looks at the people, ideas, and relationships that help a project move forward.

Where ideas meet opportunity

For emerging filmmakers, having a strong idea is only one part of the journey. A project also needs the right conversations, guidance, resources, and sometimes simply the right person to hear about it.

AMANAR aims to create that space.

During the 2026 edition, participants will have opportunities to meet professionals and representatives connected to institutions, festivals, and industry platforms including the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, El Gouna Film Festival, FESPACO, and the CNC and France’s National Centre for Cinema.

These encounters can put filmmakers in the same room with programmers, producers, institutions, and potential partners.

For a filmmaker trying to take a project from a notebook or laptop into production, that kind of meeting can be an important step.

Hiba Elabkari, Head of the Development and Production Program, sees those encounters as an essential part of helping a film move forward.

“Among the things that help a film grow are the people you meet along the way. With AMANAR, we want to create a space where filmmakers can make those encounters, challenge their ideas and build meaningful collaborations,” she said.

A longer life for short films

The focus on development also reflects a broader direction for MARRAKECHsFF. The festival’s sixth edition is expanding its professional dimension, with a stronger focus on development, industry encounters, and international circulation.

That international outlook matters because a short film can carry a local story far beyond its place of origin.

A filmmaker from Morocco may have a story rooted in one neighborhood, one family, or one experience, but the right industry connection can help that story find audiences somewhere completely different.

More than a program

At its heart, AMANAR is about making those connections less accidental.

Tarek Bouraque, Head of the AMANAR Program, captures the idea, saying, “talent doesn’t travel on its own. It takes bridges, and no single one is enough. AMANAR is our attempt at building one.”

After all, cinema has always traveled through people. A film may begin with one filmmaker and one idea, but getting it further can take a whole network of people willing to listen, challenge, support, finance, produce, and eventually share it with an audience.

And perhaps that’s what makes AMANAR interesting. It is not only asking what films can be shown in Marrakech. It is also asking what can happen to a film after Marrakech.

From September 25-30, the red city will once again become a meeting point for short films and filmmakers from Morocco and beyond. With AMANAR joining that conversation, some of the projects developed there may have a much longer journey ahead.