Marrakech Film Festival Crowns 'Promised Sky' Amid Record-Breaking Year

The film, described by New York-based film critic Tomris Laffly as "a unique drama about marginalised African immigrant women fighting for their dignity and place not in Europe... but on their own continent," follows four generations of Ivorian immigrant women navigating complex familial bonds amid entrenched social and economic divides.

Erige Sehiri, a Tunisian filmmaker, said, "As a Tunisian woman myself, I'm deeply frustrated to see that we can't welcome migrants with dignity... We act as if we weren't all living on the same continent, as if we weren't all Africans."

'Promised Sky' opened this year's Un Certain Regard and screened at festivals in London, Zurich, and Lugano before clinching the top prize in Marrakech, further cementing the festival as a platform for emerging auteurs, according to Variety.

The jury, led by director Bong Joon-ho and joined by Jenna Ortega, Anya Taylor-Joy, Julia Ducournau, Celine Song, Karim Ainouz, Hakim Belabbes, and Payman Maadi, awarded Jihan K's My Father and Qaddafi and Vladlena Sandu's Memory the Jury Prize.

The absurdist war comedy Straight Circle received a special mention for actors Luke and Elliott Tittensor, while Oscar Hudson won the directing award. Sope Dirisu and Debora Lobe Naney won best actor and best actress honours, respectively, with the latter receiving a unanimous vote.

The festival, in its 22nd edition, drew over 45,000 attendees--5,000 more than last year--largely due to outreach programs engaging young adults and film students in Rabat and Marrakech. Notably, screenings such as a conversation with Jafar Panahi, which accompanied his Palme d'Or-winning It Was Just an Accident, reached capacity, with nearly 400 attendees turned away.

Meanwhile, the world premiere of the Umm Kulthum biopic "El Set" set a new festival record, sparking a standing ovation that erupted into spontaneous dancing, leaving both organisers and audiences dazzled for more than ten minutes, according to Variety.

Festival coordinator Ali Hajji was especially struck by the screening's youthful audience. "I expected an older crowd," he admits. "So it was striking to see so many young people, people in their twenties, born decades after she passed away [in 1975]. But the Moroccan public has a deep connection to Umm Kulthum, and that spans all generations. We fought hard to get it, and we're glad it premiered here," according to Variety.

The world premiere carried added weight this year, especially amid the intense competition among films and the packed lineup of Arab festivals running from October to December -- a scheduling crunch largely dictated by the region's sweltering climate.

Hajji points to the festival's Atlas Workshops -- which showcased both "El Set" and "Promised Land" as works-in-progress last year -- as a key element of what sets Marrakech apart. "They believed in us," Hajji says, noting that the confidence and support shown during the Workshops encouraged the filmmakers to return for the festival, according to Variety.

- ANI