Marrakech, 14 Nov. 2008 (MAP)- The 8th International Film Festival of Marrakech (FIFM) kicked off on Friday with a wide range of movies from around the world.
Fifteen films from the Philippines, Iceland, Argentina, Italy, Poland, the U.S, India, Germany, Ireland, Denmark, Morocco, Finland, China and Russia will compete before the jury which will be chaired by four-time Oscar winning American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer Barry Levinson.
Prince Moulay Rachid, who is the President of the FIFM Foundation, said the festival aspires to honor "all those who contribute to the construction of the future."
“I would like to say that the festival will miss, this year, the warm sight of HASSAN SQALLI, but Marrakech will be full of the memory of the great moviemaker Youssef Chahine who passed away this year too and to whom (…) we pay a homage through the projection of seven of his most beautiful films,” the Prince said in an editorial on the FIFM official website.
“Long live the 7th Art, which allows us each year in Marrakech to feel the pulse of our world and see how humanity today needs to build and watch all its pictures and dreams,” Moulay Rachid went on to say.
This year’s edition, which runs through November 22, is to pay a tribute to British cinema and Egyptian film director, Youssef Chahine.
Under the theme "40 years of the British cinema", the festival will screen 40 movies tracing the history of the British cinema that has managed to keep its flavor amidst globalized competition.
The festival will screen a number of Egyptian movies in a second tribute to the late film director Youssef Chahine, as part of “Best of Youssef Chahine” special. The festival had already paid tribute to the Egyptian legend in 2004.
Cinema lovers will also discover Russian cinema through seven works of prominent Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky, as part of "Andrei Konchalovsky's Russia" special.
Under the theme “50 years of Moroccan cinema”, the festival will pay tribute to the godfather of Moroccan Cinema, Mohamed Osfour.
The International Film Festival of Marrakech started in 2001 as one of the big events devoted to the 7th art in Morocco, a shooting site of many international productions.