Rabat – Moroccan cinema is making its mark at the 26th edition of the Rotterdam Arab Film Festival (RAFF), taking place from June 10-14, with three feature films representing the country on an international stage.
This year’s lineup brings together 30 films from across the Arab world, with Morocco represented through “Heir to Secrets,” “Goundafa, the Cursed Song,” and “Mira.”
‘Heir to Secrets’
“Heir to Secrets” opens Morocco’s presence in the selection on June 11. Directed by Mohamed Nadif, the 2025 production follows Farid, who grows up believing his father left the country for another woman and never returned.
This version of the past shapes his entire life. He builds a career, gets married, and moves forward carrying an absence that feels settled but never questioned.
Until a letter from Canada interrupts this narrative and reveals a very different truth: his father did not leave for the reasons he was told, but after a decision that redefines everything Farid thought he knew about him.
‘Goundafa, the Cursed Song’
The same emotional thread continues in “Goundafa, the Cursed Song,” screening on the same day. The film marks the first feature by director Ali Benjelloun and is set in a remote village in the High Atlas, where music is not entertainment, but part of daily life and identity.
In this community, music belongs to everyone. Men and women alike engage with it as a natural form of expression, work, and connection to the land.
This balance begins to shift with the arrival of a new “imam,” whose presence slowly redefines what is considered acceptable within the village.
What follows is not a sudden rupture, but a gradual transformation of everyday life. Music, expression, and cultural practices that once shaped the rhythm of the community begin to be questioned, placing the village in a quiet tension between continuity and change.
‘Mira’
Closing the Moroccan selection is “Mira” by Nour Eddine Lakhmari on June 13. Set in a small village in the Middle Atlas, the film follows a thirteen-year-old Mira following her own quiet search for freedom, expressed through small acts that set her apart from the world around her.
Mira spends her days trying to free birds caught in hunters’ traps, a small act that reflects her desire for something beyond what surrounds her. Around her, other lives move in parallel, including undocumented migrants passing through the same landscape in search of a different future.
A celebration of cinema across the region
Beyond Morocco, this year’s edition reflects a wider panorama of Arab cinema, bringing together films from countries including Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, and beyond. The selection highlights the diversity of voices and stories shaping contemporary cinema across the region.
This year, however, a particular focus is placed on Syria. The 26th edition turns its attention to the country’s cinema, its diaspora, and the lasting layers of conflict, migration, and resilience.
With a strong Moroccan presence and a wider regional selection, the festival brings together films that not only tell stories, but also engage with questions that are often left unspoken, using cinema as a space for reflection, expression, and dialogue.
Read also: Moroccan Shorts ‘Hysteria,’ ‘Notification’ Join London Arab Film Night
