The festival will also present tributes to Jodie Foster, Guillermo del Toro, Raouya and Hussein Fahmi with special screenings at the Palais des Congrès, Cinéma Le Colisée and the Musée Yves Saint Laurent.
The Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM) has unveiled the official selection for its 22nd edition, scheduled to take place from November 28 to December 6. This year’s festival brings together 82 films from 31 countries, celebrating global cinema through its various sections, including the Official Competition, Gala Screenings, Horizons, 11th Continent, Moroccan Panorama and programmes for young audiences and families.
Eight films will make their world or international premieres in Marrakech, while nine others were developed through the festival’s industry arm, the Atlas Workshops. Fourteen titles in the selection also represent their countries in the race for the Academy Awards.
Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho heads the jury for the Official Competition, which features 14 debut or second films by emerging directors. The selection highlights politically charged narratives, personal stories and daring artistic approaches. Among the competing titles is the world premiere of Behind the Palm Trees by Moroccan filmmaker Meryem Benm’Barek, a psychological thriller exploring class dynamics and postcolonial themes. Other prominent entries include First Light by James J. Robinson, which follows a Filipino nun confronting corruption and Laundry by Zamo Mkhwanazi, a coming-of-age tale set during apartheid in South Africa. The section also includes Taiwanese filmmaker Shih-Han Tsao’s Before the Bright Day and Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow, a Nigeria-UK co-production. Films such as Erige Sehiri’s Promised Sky and Morad Mostafa’s Aisha Can’t Fly Away focus on stories of women’s resilience, while works like Vladlena Sandu’s Memory and Jihane K’s My Father and Qaddafi revisit complex family histories shaped by conflict.
Nine titles will be screened as Gala presentations, including some of the year’s most anticipated international releases. The festival will open with Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire, a dark comedy critiquing modern media and consumer culture. Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani will present Calle Málaga, a portrait of Tangier’s Spanish community led by actress Carmen Maura. Major international names will also take the spotlight: Guillermo del Toro arrives with a gothic interpretation of Frankenstein starring Jacob Elordi and Christoph Waltz, while Rebecca Zlotowski’s A Private Life, featuring Jodie Foster, explores intimate dilemmas. Chloé Zhao brings Hamnet, a family drama inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Two Arab world premieres are set to draw attention: Marwan Hamed’s El Sett, a biographical drama about the legendary Oum Kalthoum featuring Mona Zaki, and Sophia by Dhafer L’Abidine, who also stars in the tense thriller. The festival will close with Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36, a sweeping period drama uniting leading Arab actors.
The Horizons section showcases 19 contemporary works, offering a panoramic look at global filmmaking. Featured directors include Jim Jarmusch, Claire Denis, Kelly Reichardt, Richard Linklater, Park Chan-wook, and Arab filmmakers such as Kaouther Ben Hania, Cherien Dabis, and Hasan Hadi. Documentaries also play a major role, including Raoul Peck’s Orwell: 2+2=5 and Hélène Harder’s Fatna, a Woman Named Rachid, both premiering at the festival.
The 11th Continent section features 15 experimental fiction and documentary films that challenge storytelling conventions. Highlights include projects from Lucrecia Martel, Oliver Laxe, and Massoud Bakhshi, as well as a newly restored version of Ahmed Bouanani’s 1980 classic The Mirage, marking its first screening in restored form.
Moroccan cinema features prominently this year, with 15 national productions included across the various categories. The Moroccan Panorama will showcase seven works, among them the world premieres of Five Eyes by Karim Debbagh and Porte Bagage by Abdelkarim El-Fassi, alongside films such as Mira by Nour-Eddine Lakhmari and The Ants by Yassine Fennane.
A total of 13 films aimed at younger audiences will screen in the Young Audiences and Families section, including Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Antoine Lanciaux’s The Songbirds’ Secret, and the animated feature Tummy Tom and the Lost Teddy Bear by Joost van den Bosch and Erik Verkerk.
This year’s festival will honour four distinguished figures: Jodie Foster, Guillermo del Toro, Raouya, and Hussein Fahmi. Retrospective screenings of their films will take place at venues across Marrakech, including the Palais des Congrès, Cinéma Le Colisée and the Musée Yves Saint Laurent.
With its wide-ranging programme, the 22nd edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival reaffirms its role as a major platform for artistic discovery, cultural dialogue and cinematic innovation. For nine days, Marrakech will once again become a meeting point for filmmakers and audiences from around the world, united by a shared belief in the enduring power of cinema.
