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Following a one-year hiatus, the Marrakech International Film Festival (MIFF) is making its hotly-anticipated return for its 17th edition on November 30, with Dakota Johnson set to join the jury. Led by American film director James Gray, the Suspira actress will be in good company, joining other big names on the jury, including The Alienist actor Daniel Bruhl, Lebanese film director Joana Hadjithomas, Palme d’Or winner Lynne Ramsay, Mexican film director Michel Franco, and Bollywood star Ileana D’Cruz. Moroccan director Tala Hadid will round out the panel.
The all-star panel will join a line-up of international guests and speakers, including Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, who will be honored with a special tribute during the 10-day-long festival. Jillali Ferhati, Agnès Varda, and Robin Wright will also be celebrated during the event. Meanwhile, Martin Scorsese, Guillermo Del Toro, and Thierry Fremaux will participate in masterclasses at the 17th edition of the event.
The cinematic event will feature a total of 80 films, and will kick off with the festival opener, the Julian Schnabel-directed Van Gogh biopic At Eternity’s Gate, which is part of the Gala Screenings roster alongside Roma, Yommedine, and Nadine Labaki‘s Capernaum.
Meanwhile, the competition section of the festival boasts 14 movies hailing from the MENA region, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Competing films include Kent Jones’s Diane, the Eva Trobisch-directed All Good, and The Chambermaid from Lila Aviles. Other films set for the competition include Tunisian director Nejib Belkhadhi’s Look at Me and Hajooj Kuka’s Akasha.
The Marrakech festival, which is run by a foundation presided over by Morocco’s Prince Moulay Rachid, the brother of King Mohammed VI, also serves as a platform to support local cinema with Moroccan Panorama, a section dedicated entirely to films from the North African country. Participating films include the Narjiss Nejjar-directed Stateless and Jahilya from Hicham Lasri.
After its cancellation in 2017, the festival is back with a new programming team led by Christoph Terhechte, the former head of the Berlin Film Festival’s Forum section. The 17th edition of the festival will take place from November 30 to December 8.
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