On the occasion of its 21st edition, which takes place from November 29th to December 7th, 2024, the Marrakech International Film Festival will present 70 films selected from 32 countries in its various sections: the Official Competition, Gala Screenings, Special Screenings, the 11th Continent, the Moroccan Panorama, Cinema for Young Audiences & Families, and films shown as part of the Tributes program.
Read MoreBFI London Film Festival announces full line up for upcoming 68th edition
And the numerous titles include the latest titles from Luca Guadagnino, Pablo Larraín, Mati Diop, Kevin Macdonald, Sam Mendes and Leos Carax — along with allowing the UK public to discover visionary up and coming filmmakers like Laila Abbas, Meryam Joobeur, Mo Harawe and Shiori Ito.
Read MoreBFI London Film Festival announces Competition line up for upcoming edition
And the titles include ‘The Extraordinary Miss Flower’ by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, ‘On Becoming a Guinea Fowl’ by Rungano Nyoni and Georgian film ‘April’, produced by Luca Guadagnino.
Read MoreVenice Film Festival announces Orizzonti and Debut Film juries
And they include one of my all-time favorite filmmakers, Soudade Kaadan, along with American director and screenwriter Debra Granik, and Canadian actress Taylor Russell.
Read MoreThe Cannes 2019 Diaries: Films that broke my heart and Luca Guadagnino's Valentino project
There has been a certain je ne sais quoi in the air here in Cannes, and I wasn’t able to quite put my finger on it. It bothered me, someone always good at defining a moment, person or place, that I couldn’t put that feeling into words. Then I attended the press conference for Luca Guadagnino’s ‘The Staggering Girl’ and I had a ‘EUREKA!” moment. So bear with me for a moment while I get to that…
Read MoreLeading up to Cannes, here are the line-ups for Directors' Fortnight and Critics' Week
I know, most critics go to the Festival de Cannes looking forward to the Competition titles and maybe will grant themselves the joy of viewing the Un Certain Regard selection. But I’ll admit I’m more of a sidebar person, and while I will view a few great titles in the main lineups, my craves lay more in the Quinzaine (Directors’ Fortnight) and Semaine de la Critique.
Read MoreThe Locarno Diaries: Ted Hope, Bruno Dumont's vision and the luxury of pressing "pause"
A great film festival for me is defined not only by the quality of films I get to watch but also the meetings and chance encounters that happen along the way. In a queue waiting for a film to start, sitting in the lobby of a hotel waiting for an interview and sometimes, just stopping for a whole hour or two in the midst of the hectic festival schedule makes all the sense in the world.
I tried this yesterday afternoon and went to visit a friend in the restaurant of The Belvedere hotel, a good while after lunch and as interview junkets were being conducted all around me. It turned out to be the best decision of the day.
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