The Sebou Short Film Festival, which will be held on 20 and 21 May in Kénitra, dedicates its 8th edition to the mobilisation to save the “Palace” cinema, the only cinema in the city that has closed its doors. This edition is placed under the theme “Rehabilitating culture in the city”, the organisers indicated during a press conference, explaining that this choice “comes at a time when we are witnessing, powerless, the demolition of five cinemas in Kénitra”. “The last hope remaining for cinephiles, theatre lovers, and culture enthusiasts in the city is the Palace cinema, registered as historical heritage by the Ministry of Culture,” they insisted. Currently, the festival's screenings take place in the city hall's conference room, which is invaded by a large audience at each edition, despite the discomfort of the premises. The president of the Festival, Mokhtar Ait Omar, took this opportunity to welcome the promotion this year of this cinematographic meeting to the rank of festival, which should significantly improve the subsidy granted to it by the Moroccan Cinematographic Centre and the prizes that will be awarded to the winners. Mr Ait Omar, however, expressed his regrets regarding the “little interest that institutional bodies and local businesses pay to culture in the city”. 21 short films will be in official competition for this 8th edition, all released in 2013-2014, which is 8 films more than the previous one. The jury, chaired by the Moroccan director Kamal Kamal, will include Zhor Gourram (novelist and literary critic), Farid Zahi (film critic and research professor), Lina Mourad (Syrian actress residing in Paris), and Mohamed Chellouf (Tunisian director and artistic director of the cinematographic meetings of Hergla, in Tunisia).