The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the Atlas Programs, a new initiative designed to unite and expand all the professional support activities backed by the festival foundation. The structure will debut at the next festival edition, scheduled from November 28 to December 6, reflecting Marrakech’s deepened commitment to Moroccan, Arab, and African cinema.
The Atlas Programs are built on four key pillars, with the central strand being the Atlas Workshops. Launched in 2018, these project incubators have quickly become a hub for filmmakers and producers from the region working on projects in development and post-production. According to Remi Bonhomme, artistic director of the festival, “Atlas Workshops established themselves very quickly as a must-attend event for regional talents and international professionals eager to collaborate.”
The success is evident: films nurtured by the workshops have premiered at leading festivals worldwide. Notable examples include Cherien Dabis’ All That’s Left of You (Sundance), Erige Sehiri’s Promised Sky (Cannes Un Certain Regard opener), and Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s Once Upon a Time in Gaza, winner of Best Director at Cannes. In Venice, Cyril Aris’ A Sad and Beautiful World also emerged from the Atlas pipeline.
Beyond the workshops, other initiatives now fall under the Atlas Programs umbrella:
-
Atlas Station (launched in 2023): Offers professional training for Moroccan directors and producers, now expanding to support five short-film directors in post-production, with the goal of preparing their first features and boosting Moroccan short films internationally.
See More ...
-
Atlas Distribution: Aimed at expanding the reach of Arab and African films. Since 2023, it has included the Atlas Distribution Awards for outstanding distributors. This year, the festival adds the Atlas Distribution Meetings, a four-day networking event bringing together 60 distributors from Africa, the Arab world, and Europe.
-
Atlas Press (launched in 2024): Strengthens film criticism in Morocco through advanced training workshops for journalists and programs for students, fostering a new generation of critics.
The announcement, made during the Venice Production Bridge, highlights Morocco’s role as a country of honor at Venice this year. With Atlas Programs, Marrakech positions itself as a vital platform for emerging filmmakers, distribution innovation, and cinematic criticism, consolidating its reputation as a cornerstone for regional and international film collaboration.
