{"id":39432,"date":"2023-11-27T16:10:35","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T16:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/?p=39432"},"modified":"2023-11-27T15:43:27","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T15:43:27","slug":"marrakech-kicks-off-film-festival-in-shadow-of-war-in-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/marrakech-kicks-off-film-festival-in-shadow-of-war-in-middle-east","title":{"rendered":"Marrakech kicks off film festival in shadow of war in Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>Film industry leaders in Marrakech attending one of the Arab world\u2019s largest film festivals emphasized Friday the importance of elevating cinema and artistic expression amid a shadow cast by Israel\u2019s war with Hamas and an earthquake that struck Morocco less than three months ago.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the weeks leading up to the festival, we were not sure that we would even be able to be here. The world we share is shattered and devoured,\u201d said American actor Jessica Chastain, serving as the president of the festival\u2019s jury, in a speech on the festival\u2019s opening night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout history, art has been used as an accessible tool for communication, raising awareness about social issues and affecting positive change,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Surrounded by red carpet crowds and flashing camera lights, others agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know what\u2019s happening and don\u2019t forget it,\u201d said Melita Toscan Du Plantier, director of the Marrakech International Film Festival. \u201cBut heart is important. Heart is a weapon against obscurity and against conflict. We\u2019re here to talk about heart, show movies and talk about directors from this region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Organizers said they looked forward to showcasing cinema from Morocco, the Middle East and Africa. Throughout the week, they plan to honor Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaidi, and workshop films from throughout the region in a developmental program presided over by director Martin Scorsese.<\/p>\n

The festival opened Friday with Richard Linklater\u2019s action-comedy Hit Man. Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen was honored with a career achievement award for his films including Another Round, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Casino Royale, in which he played a Bond villain.<\/p>\n

The festival is expected to feature more than 70 additional films, including Michel Franco\u2019s Memory, starring Chastain, and Matteo Garrone\u2019s Italian immigration drama Io Capitano.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of Morocco\u2019s most widely publicized international events and comes in the aftermath of an earthquake that wreaked particular havoc on the mountain communities surrounding Marrakech. Moroccan Prince Moulay Rachid, who leads the foundation responsible for the festival, called it a \u201cbastion of peace that brings people closer together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prince said in a statement that the festival was an \u201cinvitation for discovery, empathy and sharing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Marrakech International Film Festival, along with Saudi Arabia\u2019s Red Sea Film Festival that is scheduled to open next week, are taking place as protests sweep North Africa and the Middle East, including Morocco, over the war in Gaza. That\u2019s in contrast to the Cairo International Film Festival and Tunisia\u2019s Carthage Film Festival, both of which were canceled because of the war.<\/p>\n

The festival is scheduled to run through Dec. 2.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. Film industry leaders in Marrakech attending one of the Arab world\u2019s largest film festivals emphasized Friday the importance of elevating cinema and artistic expression amid a shadow cast by Israel\u2019s war with Hamas and an earthquake that struck Morocco less than three months ago. \u201cIn the weeks leading up to the festival, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":39431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-39432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-culture-and-art","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nMarrakech kicks off film festival in shadow of war in Middle East - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Film industry leaders in Marrakech attending one of the Arab world\u2019s largest film festivals emphasized Friday the imp ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/marrakech-kicks-off-film-festival-in-shadow-of-war-in-middle-east\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marrakech kicks off film festival in shadow of war in Middle East\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Film industry leaders in Marrakech attending one of the Arab world\u2019s largest film festivals emphasized Friday the imp ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/marrakech-kicks-off-film-festival-in-shadow-of-war-in-middle-east\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-27T16:10:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/11\/sm_1701087059.692025.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1023\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"575\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/marrakech-kicks-off-film-festival-in-shadow-of-war-in-middle-east#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/marrakech-kicks-off-film-festival-in-shadow-of-war-in-middle-east\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Marrakech kicks off film festival in shadow of war in Middle East\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-27T16:10:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/marrakech-kicks-off-film-festival-in-shadow-of-war-in-middle-east\"},\"wordCount\":462,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/marrakech-kicks-off-film-festival-in-shadow-of-war-in-middle-east#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/11\/sm_1701087059.692025.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"culture and art\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/marrakech-kicks-off-film-festival-in-shadow-of-war-in-middle-east#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/marrakech-kicks-off-film-festival-in-shadow-of-war-in-middle-east\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/marrakech-kicks-off-film-festival-in-shadow-of-war-in-middle-east\",\"name\":\"Marrakech kicks off film festival in shadow of war in Middle East - 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