The Euro-African Film Festival, the third edition of which will be held in Tiznit from October 21 to 23, is an opportunity to celebrate Euro-African cinema and to discuss common issues between the two continents through art. and culture, which constitute a gateway for the dissemination of the values of dialogue, tolerance and the achievement of peace in the world.
The festival, which is organized under the slogan “Nollywood, the creative model of the African film industry”, aims to highlight Morocco’s belonging to its African depth and to build bridges of communication with Europe through culture. and art, since it is a date that establishes this Euro-African communication through the seventh art, which is an important cultural window.
In this regard, Said Bhahous, director of the Euro-African Film Festival, said in an interview with MAP that the message of this event also reflects Morocco’s African orientation, which is defended by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and is embodied in all aspects of life in Morocco, through the strength of relationships and ties. Cultural, spiritual, political and economic.
Bhous underlined that this cultural forum will pave the way for the exchange of experiences and creative ideas in the field of the seventh art between participants from the African and European continents with the prospect of producing joint works between these rich cultures in several cinematic colors.
He added that the program of this edition has the participation of 16 films from 13 countries, including Morocco, which will compete in the official competition to win four prizes: “Best Diagnosis”, “Best Screenplay”, “Best Direction”, then the Grand Prix of the festival.
In the same context, he specified that in parallel with this competition, the direction of the festival decided to organize a regional competition in which six films representing six regions of the Souss-Massa region will compete, with a view to winning the “Best film du Souss -Région de Massa”, as an encouragement for young emerging talents to create and advance cinema. at the regional level.
Training workshops will be organized for students of educational institutions in the region with the aim of familiarizing themselves with the techniques and rules of the industry in the field of cinema, as well as intellectual seminars aimed at introducing cinema Euro-African and its history, as well as a special paragraph honoring a group of faces from Moroccan, European and African films.
This session differs from the previous one by being held in presence after the second edition was in semi-digital presence, due to the restrictions imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic, and the cessation of cultural activities, and the number of films participating in the official competition has been increased to 16 films, after the participation in the previous version was limited. Only 11 movies.
This year, the country of Benin was chosen as guest of honor for this session, because the festival has always chosen and honored Euro-African cinema, at each edition, as this year the choice was honoring Benin cinema, which has marked the African film scene since 1954 (light film for men).
The festival public will have an appointment with the screening of the feature film (owo – lobe).
Out of official competition, directed by the Beninese director “Akodjo Akochai”, it is an opportunity for lovers of the seventh art to familiarize themselves with the cinema of this African country.