The city of Assilah hosts, from 14 to 17 October, its third Europe-Orient Documentary Film Festival, with Poland as the guest of honour and a rich programme of parallel activities, with the aim of creating a cultural dynamic and a fruitful dialogue between the festival guests and the film-loving public. All this contributes to the consolidation of the spirit of creativity in the documentary genre.
"We are working in the continuity of what we started in the two previous editions, in order to make this cinematographic and cultural event very close to the public and also instructive for them. We are trying to introduce other novelties such as, for this year, the setting up of a 'documentary film laboratory' to support all those interested in this cinematographic genre. For the guest of honour of this edition, the choice of Poland is not fortuitous, because it is a leading country in the field of cinema and theatre, in general, and documentary, in particular. As it is renowned for its National Film, Television and Theatre School,"
emphasises the festival director, Sohaib El Ouassani.
Furthermore, the Moroccan Association for Media Studies and Documentary Films, organiser of the event with the support of the Assilah Forum, the Moroccan Cinematographic Centre, Al Jazeera Documentary, and the municipality of Assilah, plans various sections in relation to the festival's theme, notably a conference on "Archives in documentary film" which will be moderated by director Rachid Kassimi from Morocco, Ahmed Al Kassimi from Tunisia, Luisa Mora Villarejo from Spain, and Mirabelle Freville from France. The book "Regard sur le théâtre au Maroc sous le protectorat" (A look at theatre in Morocco under the protectorate), by Moroccan producer and director Jamal Souissi, will be signed during this edition, which will also see the organisation of workshops, plastic arts exhibitions, a meeting with the great traveller Mohammed Khammouch, and a round table on "The production and distribution of documentary film".
Several speakers will take part, namely Jamal Souissi, Reda Benjelloun, Mohamed Zineddine, Jamal Dellali from Qatar, Annie Gonzalez from France, and Ahmed El Maanouni. The latter, having been chosen to be honoured during this third edition, will lead a masterclass where he will talk about his cinematographic experience in the documentary films he has directed and where he will address colonial history and its impact on Moroccan memory. Ahmed El Maanouni is also known for his abundant filmography which includes one of the most renowned titles of Moroccan cinema, "Alyam" (1978), which is the first Moroccan film to be selected for the Cannes Festival. Not to mention his second film, just as famous, "Transes" (1982), which became a cult classic and was restored by the World Cinema Foundation and presented by Martin Scorsese at the Cannes Classics Festival in 2007.
One cannot speak of Ahmed El Maanouni without mentioning "Les Cœurs brûlés" (2007) which won the Grand Prix of the National Film Festival and received numerous international awards. This director, screenwriter, director of photography, and producer (appointed as an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters) leads, in parallel with his cinematographic career, study groups and teaching programmes around the world. Another tribute will be paid, at the same time, to the Jordanian writer and director Abbass Arnaout. It should be noted that the official competition of this third edition will see the participation of about ten documentaries (Arab and foreign) which will be judged by a specialised jury, for the awarding of the Festival Grand Prix, the Directing Prize, the Screenplay Prize, the Critics' Prize, and the Al Jazeera Documentary Prize. "The choice of the Selection Committee is based on criteria prioritising quality, the treatment of issues in relation to the countries of Europe and the Orient, and the diversity of producing countries. This adds a certain appeal to the participation of these films and gives more interest to the debates and discussions around them," specifies Sohaib El Ouassani.
