De Niro and Scorsese among stars at Marrakech Film Festival
1,261 views · Published 7 December 2018 · 3:49 · Indexed 19 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(2 Dec 2018) LEADIN: Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese were among the big names out in force at the opening of the Marrakech International Film Festival. Now in its 17th year, the festival brings together filmmakers from Hollywood, the Middle East and around the world. STORYLINE: Two Hollywood heavyweights are among the big celebrities at the 17th Marrakech International Film Festival. Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro are two major icons of cinema. Scorsese will host a discussion during the festival, giving an insight into his long career. The Oscar-winning director says he is familiar with Morocco after filming 'The Last Temptation of Christ' and 'Kundun' in the country. "Very very special films for me, labours of love, and so in a way I guess there is an emotional connection to the land and the culture and I really think it's important to keep the festival going," he says. De Niro was presented an award at the event on Saturday night (1 Dec) by Scorsese in recognition of his career. "It feels great, I'm very happy to be here," he tells reporters on the red carpet. Fourteen films are competing for the Golden Star price (Etoile d'Or), the jury prize, best actor and best actress awards. Among them are Egyptian movie directed by Ahmed Magdy called "The Giraffe," a Tunisian movie directed by Nejib Belkhadhi titled "Look at Me," and "Urgent" directed by Moroccan Mohcine Besri. The jury is headed up by American director and screenwriter James Gray. Also on the jury are American actress Dakota Johnson, Lebanese director Joana Hajithomas, Indian actress Ileana D'Cruz, Moroccan director Tala Hadid, French director Laurent Cantet, German actor Daniel Bruhl, English director Lynne Ramsay, and Mexican director Michel Franco. Moroccan director, Nabil Ayouch, says the festival is an important event for the region's film industry. "It's more than just a festival, it's a meeting place, a hub, it's a place where talents can exchange with each other and it's a place when you look at its geopolitics that's between north and south, east and west, Orient and Western World." Egyptian actress Bushra is attending the festival for the first time and says it has a great reputation in the Arab world. "It's a wonderful bridge between all cinematic voices and filmmakers so it's lovely to be here and to see all the audience and to see real cinema love." Gray says the jury has a big role ahead of it as the members all watch the films and choose the winners. "You simply have to try and judge as honestly as you can for your own taste, but that's the reason it's not me dictating what's good, the reason it's better to have everybody here because that's a kind of consensus thing." The Marrakech International Film Festival runs 30 November - 8 December. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/e3f696c6314fff88480097804370d139
