20TH edition NOVEMBER 24 TO DECEMBER 2, 2023
20th edition
November 24 to December 2, 2023
Faouzi Bensaïdi directed his first short film, the multi-award-winning The Cliff, in 1998. He then co-wrote Far with André Téchiné. In 2000, he directed two short films: Le Mur, which won a prize at the Directors’ Fortnight at the Festival de Cannes, and The Rain Line, which won a prize at the Venice International Film Festival. His first feature film, A Thousand Months, mois, won the Prix Le premier regard and the Prix de la jeunesse in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. This was followed by WWW – What a Wonderful World, which was selected for the Venice International Film Festival. A reflection on the elements that went into making this film but that were not in the final cut (scraps, sketches, ideas, images, and video) formed the core of an installation called Man’s Worlds – World’s Men in 2009, in collaboration with the contemporary art centre L’Appartement 22. Bensaïdi’s next film, Death for Sale (2011), won the C.I.C.A.E. award at the Berlin International Film Festival. Volubilis was selected for Venice Days in 2017 and won seven awards at the Tangier National Film Festival. Together with Art for the World, Bensaïdi contributed two short films to omnibus films that focus on climate change: A Sunny Day as part of Interdependence (2019); and Why did you leave the horse alone? for Interactions (2022), a film about connections between humans and animals.
In 2022, he directed Summer Days, a modern-day Moroccan adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.
His latest film, Deserts (2023), was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. A theatre aficionado, screenwriter, and editor, Bensaïdi has also appeared as an actor in films by directors Jacques Audiard, Nadir Moknèche, Daoud Aoulad-Syad, and Bertrand Bonello, among others.
Faouzi Bensaïdi directed his first short film, the multi-award-winning The Cliff, in 1998. He then co-wrote Far with André Téchiné. In 2000, he directed two short films: Le Mur, which won a prize at the Directors’ Fortnight at the Festival de Cannes, and The Rain Line, which won a prize at the Venice International Film Festival. His first feature film, A Thousand Months, mois, won the Prix Le premier regard and the Prix de la jeunesse in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. This was followed by WWW – What a Wonderful World, which was selected for the Venice International Film Festival. A reflection on the elements that went into making this film but that were not in the final cut (scraps, sketches, ideas, images, and video) formed the core of an installation called Man’s Worlds – World’s Men in 2009, in collaboration with the contemporary art centre L’Appartement 22. Bensaïdi’s next film, Death for Sale (2011), won the C.I.C.A.E. award at the Berlin International Film Festival. Volubilis was selected for Venice Days in 2017 and won seven awards at the Tangier National Film Festival. Together with Art for the World, Bensaïdi contributed two short films to omnibus films that focus on climate change: A Sunny Day as part of Interdependence (2019); and Why did you leave the horse alone? for Interactions (2022), a film about connections between humans and animals.
In 2022, he directed Summer Days, a modern-day Moroccan adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.
His latest film, Deserts (2023), was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. A theatre aficionado, screenwriter, and editor, Bensaïdi has also appeared as an actor in films by directors Jacques Audiard, Nadir Moknèche, Daoud Aoulad-Syad, and Bertrand Bonello, among others.
As director / comme réalisateur
** Deserts / Déserts (2023)
Summer Days / Jours d’été (2022)
Interactions – When Cinema Looks to Nature (2022)
Interdependence Films 2019 (2019)
Short Plays (2014)
The Cliff / La Falaise (1999)
* also screenwriter / également scénariste
** also actor / également acteur
As actor / comme acteur uniquement
Sofia (2018, Meryem Benm’Barek)
The Blessed / Les Bienheureux (2022, Sofia Djama)
Dheepan (2015, Jacques Audiard) – Palme d’or – Festival de Cannes
Goodbye Morocco (2012, Nadir Moknèche)
The Wind Horse / Le Cheval de vent (2001, Daoud Aoulad Syad)
Mektoub (1997, Nabil Ayouch)
As screenwriter / comme scénariste uniquement
Far / Loin (2001, André Téchiné)
Mektoub (1997, Nabil Ayouch)
Founded by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in July 2002, the Marrakech International Film Festival Foundation is a non-profit organization of public interest.
Presided over by His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, the Foundation has as its primary objective the organisation of the Marrakech International Film Festival and any related events, all of which aim to encourage the creation, promotion, and distribution of works of cinema throughout the Kingdom of Morocco and around the globe.
Founded by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in July 2002, the Marrakech International Film Festival Foundation is a non-profit organization of public interest.
Presided over by His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, the Foundation has as its primary objective the organisation of the Marrakech International Film Festival and any related events, all of which aim to encourage the creation, promotion, and distribution of works of cinema throughout the Kingdom of Morocco and around the globe.