The 7th edition of the Atlas Workshops, unspooling between 1-5 December within the framework of the 21st Marrakech International Film Festival (29 November-7 December), has announced its selection of 17 projects in development and 10 films in production or post-production, selected from 320 applications.

The Atlas Workshops serve as the festival’s lab and marketplace for projects from the African continent and the Arab world. 21 of the 27 projects are European co-productions, with projects from Arab and African countries working in collaboration with France, Portugal, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Cyprus, Switzerland and the UK.

This year’s workshops have expanded to five days instead of the previous editions’ four days, with US filmmaker Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, The Bikeriders) serving as patron for the workshops and this cohort of filmmakers from Morocco, the Arab world and Africa. Nichols will take part in a number of sessions with selected projects in development and post-production.

“I’m thrilled to visit this incredible festival for the first time. Accepting the position as Patron to this year’s Atlas Workshops is an honour, and I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to share in the journey these filmmakers are on. Interacting with other filmmakers is always an inspiration to me, and I hope my involvement helps them on their path to getting their films out into the world,” said Nichols.

The Atlas Workshops are a part of the Marrakech International Film Festival's industry platform, which includes a particular emphasis on the artistic vitality of a new generation of Moroccan, Arab and African filmmakers. The festival’s industry events also include the Atlas Distribution Awards, launched last year as a distribution support scheme for Morocco and the Arab and African nations. This edition of the Atlas Distribution Awards also features a day of exchanges and discussions seeking to optimise the work of distributors in the region.

This year, Marrakech also inaugurates the first cohort of 10 Moroccan talents to the Atlas Station programme, which is focused on honing the skills of young Moroccan directors and producers looking to connect with the international industry.

Here is the full list of projects and films selected for the Atlas Workshops:

Projects in Development

Alicante – Lina Soualem 
Production: Easy Riders Films (France) (co-production with Algeria)

Flowers of the Dead – Nuno Miranda
Production: Miranda (Cabo Verde), KS Cinema (Portugal)

Ici Repose – Moly Kane
Production: Films Grand Huit (France), Babubu Films (Senegal)

The Last Beast of Atlas – Walid Messnaoui
Production: Caestus Films (Morocco)

Lucky Girl – Linda Lô
Production: Maneki Films (France) (co-production with Senegal)

The Orange Grove – Murad Abu Eisheh
Production: Max Films (Canada) (co-production with Jordan)

Princesse Téné – Fabien Dao
Production: Future Films (Burkina Faso)

Pure Madness – Inès Arsi
Production: Instinct Bleu (Tunisia), 3ème Genre Production (France)

Samir, the Accidental Spy – Charlotte Rabate
Production: Inter Spinas Films (France) (co-production with Syria)

The Shelter – Talal Selhami
Production: La Prod (Morocco) (co-production with France)

The Source – Mouloud Ouyahia
Production: L’Oeil Vif Productions (France) (co-production with Algeria)

Your Turn, 203  – Cynthia Sawma
Production: Abbout Productions (Lebanon), Wheelhouse Productions (France)

Atlas Close-Ups (Moroccan projects in development)

And Still I Rise – Djanis Bouzyani
Production: Ex Nihilo (France) (co-production with Morocco)

Dar Marjana – Lamia Lazrak
Production: Caravan Features (USA) (co-production with Morocco)

Fatwa – Mohamed El Badaoui
Production: Apostrophe Films (Spain) (co-production with Morocco)

The Field – Mohamed Bouhari
Production: Le moindre geste (Morocco) (co-production with Belgium)

The Nours – Yassine Iguenfer
Production: Caestus Films (Morocco), House 36 (France)

Films in Production or Post-Production

Aisha Can’t Fly Away – Morad Mostafa
Production: Bonanza Films (Egypt), Film Clinic (Egypt) (co-production with Sudan, Tunisia, Qatar, Saudia Arabia and Germany)

All That’s Left of You [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Cherien Dabis
fiche film] – Cherien Dabis
Production: Pallas Film (Germany), AMP Filmworks (Cyprus) (co-production with Palestine)

Bardi – Tala Hadid
Production: Kairoi Films (Morocco), Louverture Films (USA), Ciné-sud Promotion (France)

Behind the Palm Trees  – Meryem Benm’barek
Production: Tessalit Productions (France), Furyo Films (France), Agora Films (Morocco), Novak Prod (Belgium), The Bureau (UK)

Chronicles from the Siege – Abdallah Alkhatib
Production: Evidence Film (France), Blue Train Films (France) (co-production with Palestine and Algeria)

In the Shadows of Good Fortune – Babatunde Apalowo
Production: Polymath Pictures (Nigeria), The Make It Happen Production (Nigeria)

It’s a Sad and Beautiful World – Cyril Aris
Production: Abbout Productions (Lebanon), Reynard Films (Germany) (co-production with Germany/Saudi Arabia)

Laundry – Zamo Mkhwanazi
Production: Akka Films (Switzerland), Kude Media (South Africa)

Once Upon a Time in Gaza – Tarzan & Arab Nasser
Production: Les Films du Tambour (France), Made in Palestine Project (Palestine), Riva Films (Germany), Ukbar Filmes (Portugal), Jordan Pioneers (Jordan)

Atlas Film Showcase (film in final stages of editing and seeking a festival premiere)

El Sett – Marwan Hamed
Production: Synergy Films (Egypt), Film Square (Egypt), Film Clinic (Egypt), Luxor Studios (Egypt), Oscar Studios (Egypt) (co-production with Saudi Arabia)