While awaiting the great annual cinema festival, highly appreciated by the population of Nador and its guests, the Centre for Common Memory for Democracy and Peace unveiled, during a press conference in Rabat, the main outlines of this fifth edition scheduled from 2 to 7 May.
The Mediterranean will be celebrated as a memory of the world, in order to give the members of the Centre for Common Memory for Democracy and Peace (CMCDP) and the festival organisers the opportunity to discern the way of thinking of the peoples of the Mediterranean, wherever they are, "to know their opinion on what is happening here, as well as their comments on the problems and vicissitudes of human rights in the Mediterranean rim, and then how they can create on the political, artistic or rights level, and this from the countries of their residence", emphasises Abdesslam Boutayeb, president of the Festival, who aspires, in the company of his team, to make this cinematographic event a melting pot of fruitful discussions and debates around the question of the Mediterranean, in the presence of intellectuals and specialists in the field.
This is, moreover, the objective of the Centre for Common Memory for Democracy and Peace since its creation, in order to honour the memory of the Mediterranean, its men and pay tribute to them for everything they do or have done throughout history. According to Abdeslam Bouteyeb, this festival was created to constitute a space for exchange and questioning on everything that is happening in this region and to make it known to everyone, in order to weave ties of friendship and solidarity between peoples, and this by thinking together about the problems that can separate and dislocate these peoples. But in all this, the seventh art remains the first to be celebrated in all its components, through tributes to cinema celebrities, official competitions, workshops, master classes and other parallel activities.
"Sixteen feature films from different countries were selected from the 600 we received. It is an honour for us, but we are also unhappy not to have cinemas in Nador to present these new beautiful creations in better cinematographic conditions. This will not stop us from moving forward to realise our dream of having a great festival in Nador", adds Abdeslam Bouteyeb. He added that there will be other screenings outside the official competition, notably two Spanish films and two Moroccan ones. "We are also planning a special screening room for women, poetry readings and conferences around the theme of the edition".
The tributes section will be a little original through the choice of couples working in the field of cinema, notably that of Aziz Salmi and Saâdia Ladib, then Naoufal Berraoui and Touria Alaoui. The career of Mohamed Miftah will also be celebrated alongside actress Soumia Akaâboun, as well as that of the mayor of the city of Rotterdam, the Moroccan Ahmed Boutaleb, a very well-known personality who is leading a brilliant career. The two competitions for feature films and documentaries will be chaired, respectively, by Syrian actor Jamal Soulaïman and Lebanese musicologist artist Marcel Khalifa. Furthermore, the writer and former Moroccan ambassador to Colombia, Mohamed Khattabi, will be the president of the scientific committee.
However, the president Abdesslam Boutayeb announced, during this conference, the launch of a new prize, "the International Prize, Memory for Democracy and Peace".
