Plus, the latest projects by favorite filmmakers Lina Soualem, Murad Abu Eisheh, Cherien Dabis and Tala Hadid will be featured in this year’s prestigious sessions with selected projects in development and post-production from Morocco, Africa and the Arab world.
I won’t lie. I haven’t been this excited about an announcement in quite a while. With Jeff Nichols overseeing this year’s sessions of the Atlas Workshops, the participating filmmakers are in for a treat. He’s kind, unusually talented and his film hit a personal core inside my soul. Plus, to anyone who has been lucky enough to interview him — me! — he presents wonderful words of wisdom.
A key figure of contemporary cinema, recognized as heir to the greatest of US filmmakers, Nichols has enjoyed a meteoric rise since his directorial debut in 2007. Arriving on the world stage with Take Shelter, which took the Grand Prix in La Semaine de la Critique at the Festival de Cannes, over the course of six films, spanning a variety of genres.
About attending, as patron of the Atlas Workshops, Nichols said: “I’m thrilled to visit this incredible festival for the first time. Accepting the position as Patron to this year’s Atlas Workshops is an honor, and I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to share in the journey these filmmakers are on. Interacting with other filmmakers is always an inspiration to me, and I hope my involvement helps them on their path to getting their films out into the world.”
Lucky as well are the filmmakers in attendance with their projects, which include the first narrative feature from Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker Lina Soualem, following the international success of her documentary Bye Bye Tiberias. Her latest project, in development, is titled Alicante. Another project in development is Murad Abu Eisheh, the Jordanian filmmaker based in Germany whose previous shorts have won critical acclaim and several awards including the Golden Medal at Student Academy Awards in the US, which went to Talavision (2020). His latest is called The Orange Grove.
A still from BARDI, by Tala Hadid, used with permission
As far as films in production and post, there is the Moroccan autrice Tala Hadid, with her Bardi, a documentary currently listed in production on IMDb and Cherien Dabis, the Palestinian American helmer, with her historical drama All That’s Left of You, also starring Dabis alongside Saleh, Mohammad and Adam Bakri. Both are third films for the filmmakers.
This year, the Atlas Workshops presents 17 projects in development and 10 films in production or post-production from 13 countries, selected from 320 applications received from across the African continent and the Arab world. The selection features powerful, original stories that reflect the region's cultural diversity.
The Marrakech International Film Festival's industry platform, renowned for the consistent quality of its initiatives, expands its support programs this year, placing particular emphasis on the artistic vitality of the new generation of Moroccan, Arab, and African filmmakers.
This year, the platform includes modules that take place prior to the festival, and the Atlas Workshops will be held over five days, increasing from the four-day sessions of previous editions. This expansion enables the exploration of a wider variety of artistic and professional fields.
Launched last year, the Atlas Distribution Awards, a distribution support scheme for Morocco and the Arab and African nations, this year also features a day of exchanges and discussions seeking to optimize the work of distributors in the region.
With the aim of supporting the development of the Moroccan film industry ecosystem, this year the festival develops the Atlas Station program further with the aim of honing the skills of young.
Moroccan directors and producers who wish to connect with the international industry in order to boost the development of their projects. This year, Atlas Station welcomes its first cohort of 10 Moroccan talents, who will benefit from a bespoke program tailored for them during the Atlas Workshops. The initiative includes group work sessions, one-on-one consultations, and cross-fertilization with other Atlas Workshops programming.
Mentors were previously announced and include screenwriter Joëlle Touma, editor Nadia Ben Rachid and producer Gabrielle Dumon.
For the complete list of participating projects, see below.
PROJECTS AND FILMS SELECTED FOR THE ATLAS WORKSHOPS
PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT
ALICANTE – Lina SOUALEM (Algeria) – 1st fiction film
FLOWERS OF THE DEAD (FLÔR DI FINADO) – Nuno MIRANDA (Cabo Verde) – 1st film
ICI REPOSE – Moly KANE (Senegal) – 1st film
THE LAST BEAST OF ATLAS – Walid MESSNAOUI (Morocco) – 1st film
LUCKY GIRL (CHANCEUSE) – Linda LÔ (Senegal) – 1st film
THE ORANGE GROVE – Murad ABU EISHEH (Jordan) – 1st film
PRINCESSE TÉNÉ – Fabien DAO (Burkina Faso) – 1st film
PURE MADNESS (PURE FOLIE) – Inès ARSI (Tunisia) | Doc – 1st film
SAMIR, THE ACCIDENTAL SPY (SAMIR, ESPION MALGRÉ LUI) – Charlotte RABATE (Syria) – 1st film
THE SHELTER (LE REFUGE) – Talal SELHAMI (Morocco) – 3rd film
THE SOURCE (AL MADDA) – Mouloud OUYAHIA (Algeria) – 1st film
YOUR TURN, 2023 (À VOUS, 2023) – Cynthia SAWMA (Lebanon) – 1st film
ATLAS CLOSE-UPS (Moroccan projects in development)
AND STILL I RISE (À BALLES PERDUES, MON ÂME GAGNÉE) – Djanis BOUZYANI (Morocco) | Doc – 1st film
DAR MARJANA – Lamia LAZRAK (Morocco) | Doc – 1st film
FATWA – Mohamed EL BADAOUI (Morocco) – 4th film
THE FIELD (LE CHAMP) – Mohamed BOUHARI (Morocco) – 1st film
THE NOURS (LES FRÈRES NOUR) – Yassine IGUENFER (Morocco) – 1st film
FILMS IN PRODUCTION OR POST-PRODUCTION
AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY – Morad MOSTAFA (Egypt) – 1st film
ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU – Cherien DABIS (Palestine) – 3rd film
BARDI – Tala HADID (Morocco) – 3rd film
BEHIND THE PALM TREES – Meryem BENM’BAREK (Morocco) – 2nd film
CHRONICLES FROM THE SIEGE – Abdallah ALKHATIB (Palestine) – 2nd film
IN THE SHADOWS OF GOOD FORTUNE – Babatunde APALOWO (Nigeria) – 2nd film
IT’S A SAD AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD – Cyril ARIS (Lebanon) – 1st fiction film
LAUNDRY (UHLANJULULO) – Zamo MKHWANAZI (South Africa) – 1st film
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA – Tarzan & Arab NASSER (Palestine) – 3rd film
ATLAS FILM SHOWCASE (film in final stages of editing and seeking a festival premiere)
EL SETT – Marwan HAMED (Egypt)
SELECTED MOROCCAN PROFESSIONALS AT ATLAS STATION
Youssef AMAR – Producer
Khaoula ASSEBAB – Producer and Director
Zineb CHAFCHAOUNI MOUSSAOUI – Director
Meriame ESSADAK – Producer
Aymane HAMMOU – Producer and Director
Hicham HARRAG – Producer and Director
Samir HARRAG – Producer and Director
Safae LAHGAZI ALAOUI – Director
Jabrane LAKHSSASSI – Producer and Director
Basma RKIOUI – Producer and Director
For more information, please visit atlasateliers.marrakech-festival.com