If you are in Agadir this week, your cinema plans might already be sorted.
The 17th Issni N’Ourgh International Amazigh Film Festival starts today, October 1, bringing five days of Amazigh cinema and international filmmaking to the city.
And this is not a tiny programme.
Thirty films from 14 countries are being screened at Cinéma Sahara through October 5, with three different competitions alongside films showing outside competition.
The best part?
Screenings are free, depending on available seats.
This year’s edition is built around the theme “Agadir, capital of Amazigh culture”, putting contemporary Amazigh filmmaking in conversation with stories and filmmakers from around the world.
The programme includes Moroccan productions such as Fading Candle, L’élève du village, La Ruse, Tawnza and Sin Igharassen, alongside international films.
The festival officially opens tonight at 7 PM, with Moroccan artist Mohamed Salout receiving the Issni N’Ourgh Solidarity Prize.
There is also an ISSNI OFF event planned for October 2 in Aït Mimoun before the festival closes on October 5.
But beyond the schedule, the interesting part is what a festival like this represents.
Amazigh culture is not something that belongs only in museums, textbooks or conversations about the past.
There is a new generation of filmmakers using cinema to tell those stories right now.
For five days, Agadir is giving them the screen.
Thirty films. Fourteen countries. One very Amazigh week in Agadir.
