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Melita Toscan du Plantier has been the driving force behind the Marrakech Film Festival since her late husband, respected French producer Daniel Toscan du Plantier, wrote to the King of Morocco twenty years ago to express “his ambition to hold a first foreign festival in Morocco. “as she relates.
The 20th edition of the festival is currently being held in the ancient Moroccan city, despite the confrontation between Israel and Hamas that caused the cancellation of several other festivals in the region, as well as the earthquake that devastated the country in September. It should be noted that many stars attended the occasion, such as Tilda Swinton, Jessica Chastain (who chairs the grand jury) and Isabelle Huppert (pictured with Toscan du Plantier on the right, while the festival’s vice president, Faïçal Laraïchi, is at right). left).
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Variety spoke with Melita Toscan du Plantier about how to tackle this year’s many challenges, adding to the busy end-of-year festival season in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
You are the figure of this festival since its creation 20 years ago. How has it evolved and how complicated has it been to continue with this year’s edition?
Over the years it’s been quite an adventure and I also think it’s taken us a few years to find the right positioning. From the Atlas Workshops, we have discovered an even greater identity by accompanying all these young filmmakers from Africa and the Middle East. This is also one of the main reasons why we didn’t need to cancel the festival this year, because what would they do?
What happened when the earthquake occurred in September?
I spoke to the board and they said: “No, no, Morocco wants a festival. It is important. These other people suffered the earthquake. Why do you suffer from the cancellation of the festival? Because they want the festival to protect Moroccan cinema and local filmmakers, and we want to show the world that Morocco is doing well and that other people can return, even for tourism. So it was important, because they love us. Morocco wants tourism. For all those reasons, we had to fight. And, of course, with what’s happening right now in the Middle East [the war between Israel and Hamas], it hasn’t been very easy. But I’m glad I did it because it’s been a few days now and seeing all those other people, of all those other nationalities and religions, talking about movies, love and being together, it’s incredible. Yesterday [I saw] my dear friend Rebecca Zlotowski (“Other People’s Children”) and as she was leaving, she sent me this amazing message. She said: “Melita, thank you very much. In this terrible moment in which the world seeks to divide everyone, you have managed to unite us around cinema and love.
For me, Marrakech stands out because it encompasses all of Africa and the Arab world. That’s what makes it unique, apart from the top-notch ones that come from the Western world.
Yes, you did. But another vital difference with other festivals is that we have a genuine audience. Our festival is open to the public. They can attend all screenings and masterclasses and it’s free. Also, we don’t pay for other people to come. We never pay for other people to come, unlike other festivals. We don’t even pay your hairdresser. So that’s vital, too. Of course, it helps visitors stay at the Mamounia [luxury hotel]. But if dinner had no heart; If there was no quality in the movies, do you think Martin Scorsese would come back again and again?[He went there five times, but this year he had to miss the festival for non-public reasons. ]He knows Marruecos. No wants us to come to Marrakech or Morocco. You have enough cash to come here whenever you want. Francis Coppola came here 3 or 4 times. People come back because they love the festival.
Festivals in the MENA region multiply at this time of year due to climatic reasons. And this year the dates of Marrakech (November 24-December 2) and the Red Sea (November 30-December 9) coincide. Also for your convenience?
I mean, [artistic director] Rémi Bonhomme and the programming team are amazing and they work hard because we have a lot of festival now. And we also have to do it in the face of [this] adversity, because Red Sea has a lot more money than we do. It does so and provides it to almost all Arabic films. And then they ask for their films to premiere at their festival. And that’s very unfair. This is how we fight to exist and in the face of adversity. As for the dates, the dates were stolen from us, as our dates were always in early December for many years. But they didn’t ask us if we minded being on the same date. So I think they can all coexist. But the way they do things is rarely very fair. We deserve all of us to come together and reach a consensus on the dates.
Moroccan cinema is making wonderful progress, especially in terms of generating very daring and avant-garde films. Who is aware of this situation, what do you think?
I have noticed that Moroccan cinema has grown a lot. The first year [of the festival], the country’s production was 4 films and this year it is almost 30. And it is an incredible year for Moroccan cinema. Watch “The Mother of All Lies” through Asmae El Mudir [the Moroccan foreign Oscar candidate] who has already won so many awards. It’s such a brilliant hybrid between feature film and documentary. Shortly after Cannes [where she won the Un Certain Regard award for most productive director], I was in Australia, where Asmae won first prize at the Sydney Film Festival and earned a standing ovation. And she approached me and said: “I have dreamed of going to Marrakech since I was little, of seeing the ritual on television and my dream since I was little is to have a film in this festival. ” She is very surprised to be at a festival here, while she was in Cannes. And he even told Saudi Arabia [the Red Sea festival] – who invested a little money in his film and tried to have a premiere in the region – he said: “No, I’m Moroccan. I was able to make this film because I won two awards from Ateliers Atlas, first by progression and then by post-production.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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