Moroccan director Mohamed Mouftakir will chair the jury of the 12th Mediterranean Short Film Festival of Tangier, scheduled from 13 to 18 October, the Moroccan Cinematographic Centre (CCM) announced on Thursday.

The other members of the jury are directors Alexandra Grau de Sola (France) and Darina Al Joundi (Lebanon), director Hamid Farjad (Iran), director of photography Luca Coassin (Italy) and chief editor Julien Fouré (France), in addition to Moroccan producer Lamia Chraibi.

This jury will judge the films in the festival's official competition and will award the Grand Prix, the Special Jury Prize, the Directing Prize, the Screenplay Prize, and the prizes for best actress and actor.

Another prize, called the "Youth Prize", will also be awarded by the student directors participating in the festival as part of a session dedicated to school films.

In total, 56 short films from 19 Mediterranean countries will compete for the

official competition for this 12th edition of the festival. These films were selected from more than 600 short films that the organizing committee has received since registration opened.

Son of the great violinist Houcine Mouftakir, Mohamed Mouftakir first studied English literature at the University of Casablanca before taking courses in directing and screenwriting, notably in France. He then worked for five years as an assistant to both national and international directors.

After several internships, first at SENIS in France, then in Germany where he lived for several years, and finally in Tunisia, Mohamed Mouftakir directed "Chant funèbre", a short film awarded almost everywhere, notably at Fespaco 2009 (Ouagadougou). His first feature film, "Pegasus" (2009), won the Grand Prix at the Tangier Festival 2010 as well as 4 other prizes (best actress, sound, cinematography, special mention).