The 5th edition of the festival honoured three exceptional cinema figures: American director Martin Scorsese, Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, and Moroccan actor Hamidou (Hamid Benmassoud), who began his career in French cinema in the films of Claude Lelouch.

Also present were cinema goliaths Catherine Deneuve, Sandrine Bonnaire, and Stephen Frears, among many others, including Indian director and producer Yash Chopra, who received a special “tip of the hat.”

The feature film jury was presided over by French director, screenwriter, and producer Jean-Jacques Annaud, and jurors included the Moroccan writer and sociologist Abdelkebir Khatibi.

Spanish cinema, celebrating its golden jubilee, had an evening dedicated to its honour in the presence of numerous figures from the Spanish cinema and art worlds.

Also special in this edition was the partnership between the Marrakech International Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Institute in New York City. The Marrakech-New York Filmmaker Exchange programme, launched during the festival, was supported by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami with the objective of promoting cultural exchange between young Moroccans and Americans through cinema.