Before a film reaches Netflix, wins an award or premieres at an international festival, there’s an entire process that most audiences never get to see.
Scripts are developed. Producers search for financing. Directors look for collaborators. And sometimes, promising projects struggle to move forward.
That’s where Marrakech comes in.
The Marrakech International Film Festival has announced the selection for the ninth edition of its Ateliers de l’Atlas, a programme dedicated to supporting filmmakers from Morocco, Africa and the Arab world.
This year’s edition brings together 30 projects and films from 14 countries, selected from 410 applications.
The workshops will take place from November 22 to 26, alongside the festival’s wider industry programme.
Among the selected works are 14 projects still in development, 11 films in production or postproduction and five Moroccan projects included in a section called Regards sur l’Atlas.
The initiative offers filmmakers opportunities to meet international producers, distributors, sales agents and other professionals who can help bring their projects to audiences.
And the programme isn’t limited to established directors.
Several selected projects are first feature films, giving emerging filmmakers an opportunity to develop their work within an international industry environment.
This year’s edition will be mentored by Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho.
The selected filmmakers include Moroccan and international names, such as Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia Alaoui, Yasmine Benkiran and Ismaël El Iraki.
For Morocco, the programme is also part of a wider effort to strengthen the country’s role as a creative hub.
Marrakech is already recognized internationally for its film festival.
But behind the premieres and red carpets, initiatives like the Ateliers de l’Atlas are helping develop the films people may be watching years from now.
Because sometimes, the most important moment in a movie’s journey happens long before anyone buys a cinema ticket.
