Call for Film Entries: 21st Marrakech International Film Festival

Missions

• The 21st Marrakech International Film Festival will take place in Morocco from November 29 to December 7, 2024. Its missions are:
  • to reveal new talents by presenting feature films of quality which contribute to the evolution of the motion picture arts,
  • to increase the Moroccan audience for international cinema through an extensive presentation of new innovative films,
  • to celebrate the cinema of the past, present and future through tributes to leading figures of cinema,
  • to provide a relaxed and comfortable setting for useful contacts between Moroccan and foreign industry people, in the renowned resort of Marrakech.

Festival Sections

• Competition
  • A competitive section presenting 14 international feature films aiming at revealing new filmmakers from all over the world.
  • A Jury composed of film celebrities will award the following prizes:
    • Golden Star, endowed with 50,000 USD to be shared equally between the director and the main producer of the winning film.
    • Jury Prize
    • Best Directing Prize
    • Best Actress
    • Best Actor
  • The prize list contains only one joint award for the Jury Prize. No film can receive more than one award. However, Best Performance Award can be combined with Best Directing Prize and/or Jury Prize, if previously authorized by the Festival’s board.
  • Only the feature films that meet the following conditions may be eligible for the competitive section of the Marrakech International Film Festival:
  • Must be the first or second feature film (fiction, animation, documentary) by the director (excluding films as co-director and TV fictions or documentaries).
  • Must have not had a public screening in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region in a theatre, on television or on any Internet-based VOD platform. The Festival direction reserves the right to give a derogation for a screening in the origin country of the film.
  • Priority is given to films that have not had a theatrical release in France.
• Out-of-Competition
  • Non-competitive sections presenting international feature films.
  • Only the feature films that meet the following conditions may be eligible for the non-competitive sections of the Marrakech International Film Festival:
  • The non-competitive sections are opened to international feature films (fiction, documentary, animation or experimental films) by upcoming or established filmmakers.
  • Must have not had a public screening in Morocco in a theatre, on television or on any Internetbased VOD platform. The Festival direction reserves the right to give a derogation for Moroccan films presented in the Moroccan panorama section.
  • Priority is given to films that have not had a theatrical release in France.

Atlas Distribution Awards 

• Arab and African films selected in any section of the Marrakech International Film Festival are eligible to the Atlas Distribution Awards, a new initiative created to support and promote the distribution and circulation of films in Morocco, the Arab world, and the African continent. The Atlas Distribution Awards provide cash support to the distributors of the selected films to assist with their theatrical release strategy in at least two countries in the Arab world and/or the African continent.

Eligible Films 

• To be eligible for the Official Selection of the 21st Marrakech International Film Festival, films must comply with the following requirements:
  • must have been completed during the twelve months preceding the Festival (between November 2023 and November 2024).
  • must be a feature film with a duration over 65 minutes. The festival does not present short films.
  • must be available to be screened in DCP (The Marrakech International Film Festival does not screen 35mm).

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for the Official Selection of the 21st Marrakech International Film Festival, films must have been completed during the twelve months preceding the Festival (between November 2023 and November 2024).
• The Festival considers feature films (fiction, documentaries, animation and experimental films) with a minimum duration of 65 minutes but does not select short films.
• The Competition is exclusively reserved to international first and second feature films, presented in a MENA (Middle East and North Africa) premiere.
• The other non-competitive sections are open to international films by upcoming or established filmmakers, presented at least in a Moroccan premiere.

For more information, visit Marrakech International Film Festival.