Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire Headlines 22nd Marrakech International Film Festival Lineup

Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire will open the 22nd Marrakech International Film Festival kicking off today November 28th, and running through December 6th, 2025.

The festival which features an official selection of 82 films from 31 countries, closes with Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36.

Other Gala Screenings include Maryam Touzani’s Calle Málaga, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Jodie Foster in Rebecca Zlotowski’s A Private Life, Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound, and Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet.

The Official Competition presents 13 first and second feature films that compete for the Étoile d’or. Presented as a world premiere, Meryem Benm’Barek’s Behind the Palm Trees is a tense psychological thriller and Australian photographer James J. Robinson presents the international premiere of his First Light, a moral drama in which a Filipino nun questions her faith in the face of corruption.

Several filmmakers present semi-autobiographical narratives including Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow following a father and his sons in Nigeria during the 1993 electoral crisis; and Zamo Mkhwanazi’s Laundry recounting the dreams of a young South African man during apartheid.

Two debut feature films – Siyou Tan’s Amoeba and Imran Perretta’s Ish – explore teenage friendship. Three films portray women who demonstrate resistance – Erige Sehiri’s Promised Sky, a tale of female solidarity in the face of racism in Tunisia; Ondřej Provazník’s Broken Voices, a chilling drama about the abuse of authority; and Morad Mostafa’s Aisha Can’t Fly Away, a fantasy thriller that follow a Sudanese woman’s quest for freedom in Cairo.

In the documentaries Memory and My Father and Qaddafi, directors Vladlena Sandu and Jihane K, respectively, revisit their childhoods in Chechnya and Libya.

Finally, Oscar Hudson’s Straight Circle is described as an incisive satire about the absurdity of conflict, and Lucía Aleñar Iglesias’ Forastera, a luminous summer tale of mourning.

South Korean director Bong Joon Ho chairs the jury, composed of Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz, who won over international audiences with The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão; Moroccan filmmaker Hakim Belabbes; French director Julia Ducournau, Palme d’or winner for Titane; Iranian actor and director Payman Maadi, who rose to international fame in Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation (Golden Bear at Berlinale and Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film), which earned him the Silver Bear for Best Actor; actress Jenna Ortega; Canadian filmmaker Celine Song, director of the highly acclaimed Past Lives; and actress Anya Taylor-Joy.

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY
by Morad Mostafa
Egypt, France, Germany, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Sudan
with Buliana Simon, Ziad Zaza, Mamdouh Saleh, Emad Ghoniem, Maya Mohamed, Mohamed Abd Elhady
Supported by the Atlas Workshops

AMOEBA
by Siyou Tan
Singapore, Netherlands, France, Spain, South Korea
with Ranice Tay, Nicole Lee, Lim Shi-An, Genevieve Tan, Jack Kao, Ng Mun Poh

BEFORE THE BRIGHT DAY (NAN FANG SHI GUANG)
by Shih-Han Tsao
Taiwan
with Hsuan-Li Chen, Kang-Ren Wu, Shu-Mei Sun, R.D. Huang, Yu-Chieh Cheng

BEHIND THE PALM TREES (DERRIÈRE LES PALMIERS)
by Meryem Benm’Barek
France, Morocco, Belgium, United Kingdom
with Sara Giraudeau, Driss Ramdi, Nadia Kounda, Carole Bouquet, Olivier Rabourdin, Soumaya Akaaboune
Supported by the Atlas Workshops
World Premiere

BROKEN VOICES (SBORMISTR)
by Ondřej Provazník
Czech Republic, Slovakia
with Kateřina Falbrová, Juraj Loj, Maya Kintera, Zuzana Šulajová, Marek Cisovský, Ivana Wojtylová

FIRST LIGHT
by James J. Robinson
Philippines, Australia
with Ruby Ruiz, Maricel Soriano
International Premiere

FORASTERA
by Lucía Aleñar Iglesias
Spain, Sweden, Italy
with Zoe Stein, Lluis Homar, Núria Prims, Nonni Ardal,
Martina García

ISH
by Imran Perretta
United Kingdom
with Farhan Hasnat, Yahya Kitana, Avin Shah, Sudha
Bhuchar, Joy Crookes, Arman Mohammed

LAUNDRY (UHLANJULULO)
by Zamo Mkhwanazi
Switzerland, South Africa
with Ntobeko Sishi, Tracy September, Zekhethelo Zondi, Siyabonga Shibe, Bukamina Cebekhulu
Supported by the Atlas Workshops

MEMORY
by Vladlena Sandu
France, Netherlands
with Amina Taisumova, Selima Agamirzaeva, Vladlena
Sandu

MY FATHER AND QADDAFI
by Jihan K
United States, Libya – Documentary

MY FATHER’S SHADOW
by Akinola Davies Jr.
United Kingdom, Nigeria
with Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Chibuike Marvellous Egbo, Godwin Egbo

PROMISED SKY (PROMIS LE CIEL)
by Erige Sehiri
France, Tunisia, Qatar
with Aïssa Maïga, Laetitia Ky, Debora Lobe Nanay, Mohamed Grayaa, Foued Zaazaa, Estelle Kenza Dogbon, Touré Blamassi
Supported by the Atlas Workshops

STRAIGHT CIRCLE
by Oscar Hudson
United Kingdom
with Luke Tittensor, Elliot Tittensor, Neil Maskell

GALA

Opening film
DEAD MAN’S WIRE
by Gus Van Sant
United States
with Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Al Pacino, Colman Domingo, Myha’la, Cary Elwes, Kelly Lynch

CALLE MÁLAGA (RUE MÁLAGA)
by Maryam Touzani
Morocco, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium
with Carmen Maura, Ahmed Boulane, Marta Etura

FRANKENSTEIN
by Guillermo del Toro
United States
with Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer

HAMNET
by Chloé Zhao
United Kingdom
with Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson, Zac Wishart, James Lintern

HOMEBOUND
by Neeraj Ghaywan
India
with Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, Janhvi Kapoor

A PRIVATE LIFE (VIE PRIVÉE)
by Rebecca Zlotowski
France
with Jodie Foster, Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira, Mathieu Amalric, Vincent Lacoste

EL SETT
by Marwan Hamed
Egypt
with Mona Zaki, Sayed Ragab, Ahmed Khaled Saleh, Mohamed Farag, Karim AbdelAziz, Ahmed Helmy
Supported by the Atlas Workshops
World Premiere

SOPHIA
by Dhafer L’Abidine
Tunisia, United Kingdom
with Jessica Brown Findlay, Dhafer L’Abidine, Jonathan Hyde, Kais Setti, Hiba Abouk, Maya Celine Gharbi
World Premiere
Closing film

PALESTINE 36
by Annemarie Jacir
Palestine, United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan
with Hiam Abbass, Kamel Al Basha, Yasmine Al Massri, Jalal Altawil, Robert Aramayo, Saleh Bakri, Dhafer L’Abidine, Jeremy Irons

HORIZONS

ALL THAT IS LEFT OF YOU (ALLLY BAQI MINK)
by Cherien Dabis
Germany, Cyprus
with Saleh Bakri, Cherien Dabis, Adam Bakri, Maria Zreik, Mohammad Bakri, Mohammad Abd Elrahman
Supported by the Atlas Workshops

AT WORK (À PIED D’OEUVRE)
by Valérie Donzelli
France
with Bastien Bouillon, André Marcon, Virginie Ledoyen

DIVINE COMEDY (KOMEDIE ELAHI)
by Ali Asgari
Iran, Turkey, Italy, France, Germany
with Bahram Ark, Sadaf Asgari, Bahman Ark, Faezeh Rad, Mohammad Soori, Milad Ashkali

FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER
by Jim Jarmusch
United States, Ireland, France
with Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps

FATNA, A WOMAN NAMED RACHID (FATNA, UNE FEMME NOMMÉE RACHID)
by Hélène Harder
Morocco, France, Belgium – Documentary
with Fatna El Bouih
World Premiere

THE FENCE (LE CRI DES GARDES)
by Claire Denis
France
with Isaach De Bankolé, Matt Dillon, Mia Mackenna-Bruce, Tom Blyth, Brian Begnan, Moussa Thiam

IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (UN SIMPLE ACCIDENT)
by Jafar Panahi
Iran, France, Luxembourg
with Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi

THE MASTERMIND
by Kelly Reichardt
United States
with Josh O’Connor, Alana Haim, John Magaro , Gaby Hoffmann, Eli Gelb

MOTHER
by Teona Strugar Mitevska
Belgium, North Macedonia, Sweden, Denmark, Bosnia & Herzegovina
with Noomi Rapace, Sylvia Hoeks, Nikola Ristanovski

NOUVELLE VAGUE
by Richard Linklater
France
with Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubry Dullin, Adrien Rouyard, Antoine Besson, Jodie Ruth-Forest

NO OTHER CHOICE (EOJJEOL SUGA EOPDA)
by Park Chan-wook
South Korea
with Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won

ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
by Arab Nasser & Tarzan Nasser
France, Palestine, Germany, Portugal, Qatar, Jordan
with Nader Abd Alhay, Ramzi Maqdisi, Majd Eid, Issaq Elias
Supported by the Atlas Workshops

ORWELL: 2+2=5
by Raoul Peck
United States, France – Documentary
with Damian Lewis

A PLACE FOR HER (LA MAISON DES FEMMES)
by Mélisa Godet
France
with Karin Viard, Laetitia Dosch, Oulaya Amamra, Eye Haïdara, Pierre Deladonchamps, Juliette Armanet

A POET (UN POETA)
by Simón Mesa Soto
Colombia, Germany, Sweden
with Ubeimar Rios, Rebeca Andrade, Guillermo Cardona, Allison Correa, Margarita Soto, Humberto Restrepo

THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE (MAMLAKET AL-QASAB)
by Hasan Hadi
Iraq, United States, Qatar
with Baneen Ahmed Nayyef, Sajad Mohamad Qasem, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Rahim AlHaj

A SAD AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD (NOUJOUM AL AMAL WAL ALAM)
by Cyril Aris
Lebanon, United-States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
with Mounia Akl, Hasan Akil, Julia Kassar , Camille Salameh , Tino Karam, Nadyn Chalhoub
Supported by the Atlas Workshops

SILENT FRIEND (STILLE FREUNDIN)
by Ildikó Enyedi
Germany, Hungary, France
with Tony Leung, Chiu-Wai, Luna Wedler, Enzo Brumm, Sylvester Groth, Martin Wuttke, Johannes Hegemann, Léa Seydoux

THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB (LA VOIX DE HIND RAJAB)
by Kaouther Ben Hania
Tunisia, France
with Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Clara Khoury, Amer Hlehel

11th CONTINENT

ALL MY SISTERS (TOUTES MES SOEURS / 3 KHÂHAR)
by Massoud Bakhshi
Austria, France, Germany – Documentary
with Zahra, Mahya, Maleka

ANCESTRAL VISIONS OF THE FUTURE
by Lemohang Mosese
France, Lesotho, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia –
Documentary

AND THE FISH FLY ABOVE OUR HEADS (WAL ASMAK TATIR FAWKA ROU’OUSSINA)
by Dima El-Horr
France, Lebanon, Saoudi Arabia – Documentary
with Reda Sheib, Adel Slim, Qassem Abani

DO YOU LOVE ME
by Lana Daher
France, Lebanon, Germany, Qatar – Documentary

I WANT HER DEAD (IL QUIETO VIVERE)
by Gianluca Matarrese
Italy, Switzerland – Documentary

LANDMARKS (NUESTRA TIERRA)
by Lucrecia Martel
Argentina, United States, Mexico, France, Netherlands,
Denmark – Documentary

LIFE AFTER SIHAM (LA VIE APRÈS SIHAM)
by Namir Abdel Messeeh
Egypt, France – Documentary
with Siham Abdel Messeeh, Waguih Abdel Messeeh, Nermine Abdel Messeeh, Namir Abdel Messeeh
Supported by the Atlas Workshops

THE LOVE THAT REMAINS (ÁSTIN SEM EFTIR ER)
by Hlynur Pálmason
Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, France
with Saga Garðarsdóttir, Sverrir Guðnason, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Grímur Hlynsson, Þorgils Hlynsson

MEMORY OF PRINCESS MUMBI
by Damien Hauser
Switzerland, Kenya, Saudi Arabia – Mockumentary
with Shandra Apondi, Ibrahim Joseph, Samson Waithaka

THE MIRAGE (MIRAGE / AS-SARAB)
by Ahmed Bouanani
Morocco – 1980 – Restored version
with Mohamed Habachi, Mohamed Saïd Afifi, Fatima Regragui, Mohamed Razine, Mostafa Mounir
World Premiere

THE MUMMY–THE NIGHT OF COUNTING THE YEARS (AL-MOMIA)
by Shadi Abdel Salam
Egypt – 1969 – Restored version
with Ahmed Marei, Ahmed Hegazi, Zouzou Hamdi El Hakim, Nadia Lutfi

MY ARMENIAN PHANTOMS (MES FANTÔMES ARMÉNIENS)
by Tamara Stepanyan
France, Armenia, Qatar – Documentary

SAÏD EFFENDI (SAEED EFFENDI)
by Kameran Hosni
Iraq – 1956 – Restored version
with Youssef Al-Ani, Zainab Hosni, Abdel-Wahid Taha, Jaafar Al-Saadi

SIRÂT
by Oliver Laxe
Spain, France
with Sergi López, Bruno Núñez Arjona, Richard Bellamy, Stefania Gadda, Joshua Liam Henderson, Tonin Janvier, Jade Oukid

WITH HASAN IN GAZA
by Kamal Aljafari
Palestine, Germany, France, Qatar – Documentary

MOROCCAN PANORAMA

THE ANTS (LES FOURMIS)
by Yassine Fennane
Morocco
with Marame Ndiye, Nadia Kounda, Hicham Slaoui, Majdouline Drissi, Mansour Badri

AUTISTO
by Jérôme Cohen-Olivar
Morocco
with Loubna Abidar, Sam Kanater, Youssef Bougerra, Sandia Aboutajedyne

BAD WEATHER (MAUVAIS TEMPS )
by Madane El Ghazouani
Morocco
with Abdenbi Benniwi, Hajar Graigaa, Mohammed Maroua, Abdelghani Sennak, Noufissa Doukkali

FIVE EYES (CINQ REGARDS)
by Karim Debbagh
Morocco, France – Documentary
with Paul Bowles, Mohamed Choukri, Mohammed Temsamany, Mohammed Mrabet, Abdelouahid Boulaich, Karim Debbagh
World Premiere

MIRA
by Nour-Eddine Lakhmari
Morocco, Saudi Arabia
with Safae Khatami, Zaynab Lalj, Fatima Atif, Omar Lotfi, Moussa Sylla, Ismail Fallahi

PORTE BAGAGE
by Abdelkarim El-Fassi
Netherlands
with Ahlaam Teghadouini, Mahjoub Benmoussa, Mohammed Chaara
International Premiere

THOSE WHO WATCH OVER (CEUX QUI VEILLENT)
by Karima Saïdi
Belgium – Documentary

CINEMA FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES & FAMILIES

ARCO
by Ugo Bienvenu
France, United States
with Oscar Tresanini, Margot Ringard Oldra, Alma Jodorowsky, Swann Arlaud, Vincent Macaigne, Louis Garrel

THE BARONESSES (LES BARONNES)
by Nabil Ben Yadir & Mokhtaria Badaoui
Belgium, Luxembourg, France
with Saadia Bentaieb, Rachida Bouganhem, Halima Amrani, Rachida Riahi, Sanya Sridi
International Premiere

GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
by Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson
United States
with (French voices) Gaël Raës, Pierre Santini, Jacques Verzier, Michel Lerousseau, Thierry Hancisse, Anne Alvaro

THE SONGBIRDS’ SECRET (LE SECRET DES MÉSANGES)
by Antoine Lanciaux
France, Belgium
with Lucie Leontadis, Anton Souverbie-Giorgis, Marina Le Guennec, Yannick Jaulin

TUMMY TOM AND THE LOST TEDDY BEAR (TOM LE CHAT : À LA RECHERCHE DU DOUDOU PERDU / DIKKIE DIK EN DE VERDWENEN KNUFFEL)
by Joost van den Bosch & Erik Verkerk
Netherlands, Belgium
with (French voices) Martin Spinhayer