Photo: Instagram.com/festivaldecannes
Moroccan director and screenwriter Maryam Touzani has joined the Cannes Film Festival jury for the 76th iteration of the event set to take place from May 16 to 27.
Born in Tangier in 1980, the 43-year-old started her career as a film critic but soon ended up behind the camera itching to showcase her vision to the world. Her two initial titles, Quand ils dorment and Aya va a la plage, were just the beginning of an illustrious career that led her to collaborations with French-Moroccan filmmaker Nabil Ayouch on Much Loved, Razia, and Casablanca Beats. Her first feature film Adam was nominated for Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival and was also shortlisted for the Oscars.
However, the true jewel in her crown is the highly acclaimed 2020 title The Blue Caftan, which was selected for the Un Certain Regard award and was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The film follows Halim and Mina, a married couple running a traditional kaftan store in one of Morocco’s oldest medinas, refusing to acknowledge a huge secret within their relationship. Touzani will also soon be expanding her horizons with her first novel, which she will be working on while prepping her next feature film.
The Morrocan director is joined on the jury by Swedish director Ruben Ostlund, French actor Denis Menochet, British-Zambian screenwriter Rungano Nyoni, US actress Brie Larson, US filmmaker Paul Dano, Afghani director Atiq Rahimi, Argentinian writer Damian Szifron, and French filmmaker Julia Ducournau.
Touzani is not the only Arab to join the illustrious festival this year. Lebanese-French filmmaker and writer Audrey Diwan (who won the Venice Golden Lion in 2021 for her sophomore feature) has also been announced as the jury president for this year’s edition of Cannes Critics Week.
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