Fez — The Marrakech Short Film Festival is expanding its documentary ambitions with the launch of “Bridges of Reality,” a new program set to debut during the festival’s sixth edition in Marrakech from September 25 to 30.
The festival has also opened its call for films, inviting submissions from around the world until May 1.
According to the festival’s announcement, “Bridges of Reality” is designed as a long-term documentary platform dedicated to stories from and about Africa.
The initiative will focus on short nonfiction works that engage with contemporary realities, personal narratives, and the wider social and historical forces shaping the continent and its diaspora.
In practical terms, the new section will accept documentaries running from six to 24 minutes, with no stated restrictions on production date or filmmaker age.
A stronger documentary lane for African voices
The new program is being curated by Alex Moussa Sawadogo, a prominent figure in African film curation whose career has included leadership roles at “FESPACO” and the Berlin-based “AFRIKAMERA” festival.
Festival communication material presents his involvement as a way of grounding the project in a wider African and international film network at a time when documentary storytelling is gaining more visibility across festivals and industry platforms.
This matters because “Bridges of Reality” is not being framed as a one-off sidebar. The festival describes it as a multi-year space for exchange, transmission, and circulation, where filmmakers, producers, and cultural actors can meet around documentary work that often struggles to secure the same spotlight as fiction shorts.
Expanding the festival’s profile
The launch also fits the broader trajectory of the Marrakech Short Film Festival, which has increasingly positioned itself as a platform for emerging talent and international exchange. Its official website says this year’s edition will welcome submissions across Moroccan, international, and documentary competitions, while continuing the open-air festival format that has helped define its identity in recent years.
