Rabat – Eight Moroccan cinematic productions from Ali Zaoua to The Blue Caftan will participate at the Haifa International Film Festival in Israel from October 8 to 17.
The Moroccan movies will be displayed on Haifa’s big screen as a tribute to Moroccan cinema. Yasmin Benkiran’s 2022 production Queens is set to be displayed on the first day of the festival followed by Laila Marrakchi’s Rock the Casbah and Sofia Alaoui’s So What if the Goats Die.
Other films to be featured include, Maryam Touzani’s Aya wal Bahr (Aya goes to the Beach) and Adam will be played later on in the evening of Wednesday, October 12, just a few hours after Nabil Ayouch’s Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets.
On Thursday, October 13, the Moroccan couple Ayouch and Touzani will have their work on the big screen; including Ya Khayl Allah (Horses of God in English) and Le Blue du Caftan (The Blue Caftan in English).
In addition to the screening of Moroccan movies, the Haifa Film Festival expects to host two master classes with the aforementioned female filmmakers and Nabil Ayouch on October 11 and October 13.
Read Also: Filmmaker Nabil Ayouch Represents Moroccan Cinema at Cannes 2022
According to the organizers, the masterclasses aim to connect Moroccan filmmakers with their audience and the industry itself, as well as celebrate the directors who give voices to the marginalized through their film productions.
Despite the fact that the chosen movies cover some social taboos such as, homosexuality and street children, the eight Moroccan movies have still gained international support.
In September, the Moroccan Cinema Center (CCM) selected Touzani’s The Blue Caftan to represent the Kingdom in the 2023 Oscars category for International Feature Film even though the protagonist is homosexual. The movie produced by Ayouch was previously displayed at Cannes and Toronto festivals.
Read Also: ‘Bleu du Caftan’: 1st Moroccan Movie to Win FIPRESCI Prize in Cannes
