At the heart of the 78ᵉ edition of the Cannes Film Festival, the Moroccan presence is displayed with renewed consistency and ambition. For the first time, the Kingdom of Morocco, through the Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM), installs an institutional stand within the film market, forcefully affirming a radiation strategy carried by the high orientations of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. This participation marks a turning point for Moroccan cinema, thought as a lever of cultural diplomacy and a vector of international visibility.
The Moroccan stand, installed in the heart of the professional excitement of the film market, is more than a simple exhibition space. It is designed as a strategic platform for meetings, valuation and structuring of the sector. Five Moroccan films are put forward, including four projects projected in market rooms: The Wound from Seloua El Gouni, The last rehearsal by Yassine Fennane, Blue lake from Daoud Aoulad-Syad, and Peace Hotel by Jamal Belmejdoub. An exclusive presentation of the first images of The Black Pearl D’Ayoub Qanir, currently being finalized, completes this selection. These works testify, each in their own way, of an artistic dynamism and a diversity of looks which embody the current evolution of the Moroccan cinematographic landscape.
When the stand is opened, Abdelaziz El Bouzdaini stressed that ” The film market represents a strategic platform for creators, institutions and partners. The presence of Morocco this year reflects a clear desire to lastingly include our film production in major cooperation and dissemination circuits ». A statement that entered this initiative in a long -term strategy, both ambitious and structured.
The Moroccan presence in Cannes does not stop at the film market. It is also deployed in the official selections of the festival, affirming the growing recognition of the young voices of the country. The short film Mina de Randa Maroufi appears in the 64ᵉ week of criticism, while Boujloud De Rita Bousfiha-Lamotte is selected at the AI Film Awards Cannes 2025. Two works that reflect the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers, with affirmed and already international scriptures.
Another mark of influence, two feature films shot in Morocco were retained by the festival: Sîrat of the Spaniard Oliver Laxe, in official competition, shot in the Moroccan desert with a local technical team, and 13 days, 13 nights From Martin Bourboulon, presented outside competition. Two productions which confirm both the attractiveness of the Moroccan territory as a land of filming and the technical expertise of its professionals. This double recognition is part of a proactive policy for the development of infrastructure, professionalization of teams and enhancement of Moroccan landscapes and know-how.
This movement is part of a broader dynamic, where culture becomes a tool for diplomacy and influence. Morocco will indeed be the guest of honor of the 82ᵉ Mostra of Venice. Discussions are also underway for a Moroccan presence at the Berlinale and at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Three major stages of a strategy that intends to make the kingdom an unmissable actor on the world cinematographic scene.
This internationalization strategy is also based on a clear commitment to the young generations. On May 18, 2025, at the Moroccan pavilion, a co-production workshop Morocco-France was organized by the CCM and the CNC, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the co-production agreement signed between the two countries. Five projects were selected from candidates from young Moroccan filmmakers: The House of Angels by Jihane Joypaul, The track of Mohcine Nadifi, Left behind from Kenza Tazi, The field by Mohamed Bouhari and Malikan animation project carried by Khalid Nait-Zlay.
All these projects, carried out by directors at the very beginning of a career, benefit in Cannes from concrete support: personalized professional appointments, meetings with French producers, advice for the development of effective co-productions. An approach which aims to support the generational renewal of Moroccan cinema and to register young talents in an international framework from the genesis of their projects.
The presence of Mrs. Rachida Dati, Minister of Culture of the French Republic, at the Moroccan pavilion added to this workshop a strong institutional dimension. By meeting in particular the teams of The House of Angels and Malikshe reaffirmed France’s commitment to artistic cooperation with Morocco and underlined the importance of these exchanges for the cultural industries of the two countries.
Over the course of initiatives, Morocco thus sketches the contours of an ambitious and coherent cultural policy, based on the valuation of its creators, the opening to partnerships, and the anchoring of its cinema in international circuits of creation, dissemination and co -production. The presence in Cannes 2025, articulated around a triple dimension – institutional, artistic and educational – embodies a strategic turning point in this global vision.
But beyond images, figures and presences, a question is now arising: will this export and structuring policy be able to feed a lasting internal ecosystem, capable of offering Moroccan creators, beyond Cannes projectors, the conditions of artistic freedom and real autonomy of production? While the next international deadlines open, this question remains at the heart of the challenges that Moroccan cinema will have to meet its place on the global map of the 7ᵉ art.
Neïla Driss, according to press releases
