Star-studded ceremony closes the curtain on the twenty first International Marrakech Film Festival

The twenty first International Marrakech Film Festival concluded in fashion on December 7, 2024, with a glittering closing ceremony that honored the perfect in world cinema. The pageant’s high prize, the Étoile d’Or, was awarded to Happy Holidays, a robust Palestinian drama directed by Scandar Copti. Set in Haifa, the movie makes use of the aftermath of a minor automotive accident to discover societal divisions, leaving a long-lasting impression on the jury and viewers alike.

Wafaa Aoun and Manar Shehab shared the Best Actress award for his or her performances in Happy Holidays, whereas the Jury Prize was break up between two standout movies: Argentina’s The Cottage and Somalia’s The Village Next to Paradise.

Meanwhile, Damian Kocur was celebrated for Best Director for his work on Under the Volcano (Poland), a gripping narrative of human resilience. The movie additionally earned Roman Lutskyi the Best Actor award for his placing portrayal of the protagonist.

Acclaimed Italian filmmaker and Jury President Luca Guadagnino took the stage through the ceremony to mirror on the pageant’s cultural influence, expressing deep gratitude to King Mohammed VI and Prince Moulay Rachid, President of the Marrakech International Film Festival Foundation.

Guadagnino praised Marrakech as “undeniably the cinema capital of December,” llauding the pageant for uniting a various vary of cinematic legends, akin to Abderrahmane Sissako, David Cronenberg, Tim Burton, Sean Penn, François Ozon, Alfonso Cuarón, Jeff Nichols, and Todd Haynes, “all driven by an unrelenting passion to tell stories and explore what makes us human,” Guadagnino remarked.

The pageant’s vibrant closing ceremony, attended by filmmakers, actors, and cinephiles from throughout the globe, underscored the pageant’s popularity as a significant cultural occasion within the pageant circuit.

As the lights dimmed on this yr’s version, the Marrakech International Film Festival as soon as once more reaffirmed its place as a beacon of world cinema, celebrating the artwork and emotion of filmmaking.