The 2025 Atlas Workshops (30 November-4 December), part of the 22nd Marrakech International Film Festival, saw the presentation of 28 projects at various stages – 17 in development, and 11 in production or post-production (see the news). Here, we delve into some of the projects that won awards at the gathering, as announced on 4 December (see the news).

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Atlas Post-production Prize - €20,000
Don’t Let the Sun Go up on Me – Asmae El Moudir (Morocco/France/Denmark)
Producers: Asmae El Moudir (Insight Films), Emma Lepers (Haut et Court Doc), Monica Hellström (Ström Pictures)
International sales: Autlook Filmsales
Distribution: Haut et Court
Born with a rare genetic disorder that makes it dangerous for her to be exposed to sunlight, Fatimazahra lives her life at night among the Children of the Moon, a community of young adults who share her condition. Together, they connect online to exchange stories, dreams and experiences, shielded from the world. Filmed from birth by her father Habib, Fatimazahra’s life was captured between shadow and light until 2006. In 2017, Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir met Habib and began documenting Fatimazahra, her family and her community using these rich archives. Following Fatimazahra’s passing in 2023, her sister Meriem, along with six Children of the Moon, ventures to Norway’s Lofoten Islands to experience life under the polar night, a world without sun. El Moudir is known for her award-winning short films and her first feature-length documentary, The Mother of All Lies, and she is now shooting this hybrid documentary. Don’t Let the Sun Go up on Me is expected to be delivered in May 2027. The project is currently seeking distributors, funding, festival support, co-producers and post-production assistance.

La Más Dulce by Laïla Marrakchi

Atlas Post-production Prize - €20,000
La Más Dulce – Laïla Marrakchi (France/Morocco/Spain/Belgium)
Producers: Juliette Schrameck (Lumen), Saïd Hamich Benlarbi (Mont Fleuri Production), Adrià Monès Murians (Fasten Seat Belt), Elisa Heene (Mirage Films)
International sales: Lucky Number
Distribution: Diaphana Distribution
Two young Moroccan women leave home to work as seasonal strawberry pickers in southern Spain, lured by the promise of fair pay and better futures for themselves and their families. Instead, they are confronted by abuse and exploitation. With the support of a lawyer, they take the courageous step of denouncing the injustices they face, risking everything in the process. La Más Dulce is a story of resilience, solidarity and the unbreakable bonds formed during the struggle for justice. Laïla Marrakchi, born in Casablanca and based in Paris, is known for her debut, Marock [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film], which premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, and her second feature, Rock the Casbah. La Más Dulce has an expected delivery date of 2026, and features performances by Nisrin Erradi, Hajar Graigaa, Hind Braik, Fatima Attif and Larbi Mohammed Ajbar. The project is looking for festival partners, post-production support and international distributors.

Atlas Post-production Prize - €10,000
Goma Enough Is Enough – Elisé Sawasawa (France/Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Producers: Marianne Dumoulin, Jacques Bidou (JBA Production), Christian Bitwaiki (Molakisi Films)
In January 2025, the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, falls to the M23 rebels in just four days. Despite the presence of the Congolese army, multiple East African forces, regional militias, mercenaries and the largest UN base in the world, the city collapses once again under the weight of a conflict that has defined generations. Goma Enough Is Enough captures the strength and resilience of the Congolese people as they endure the unending tragedy of war, bearing witness to an unbreakable vitality in the face of devastation. Cinematographer and self-taught filmmaker Elisé Sawasawa, who was born in Goma, turns the camera on his own community with clarity and a sense of urgency. The documentary is now at the mixing stage. Shot from 2022 until early 2025 across North Kivu, the project has secured significant support from various institutions, and delivery is planned for January. The team is currently looking for funds, sales agents, festivals and post-production technical support.

Les Dieux Délinquants by Boubacar Sangaré

Atlas Development Prize - €20,000
Les Dieux Délinquants – Boubacar Sangaré (Burkina Faso/France)
Producers: Boubacar Sangaré (BES Ciné), Madeline Robert (Les Films de la Caravane)
Seventeen-year-old Titenga leaves his traditional West African village, chasing the promise of opportunity in the capital, only to collide with a harsh urban reality. Drawn into a fragile network of street children and guided by Ibrahim, he becomes a “douanébi” – one of the boys who “tax” passersby in order to survive. As the daily struggle hardens him, Titenga drifts between rebellion and delinquency, gradually rising to lead a gang of marginalised youth. He begins to imagine himself at the helm of a popular revolt, blurring the line between myth, hallucination and lived experience. Burkinabè filmmaker Boubacar Sangaré – whose acclaimed debut documentary, A Golden Life [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], premiered in the Berlinale Forum and travelled widely – turns to fiction for the first time.  With a planned shoot in Burkina Faso between March and May 2027, and delivery expected in May 2028, the team is currently seeking co-producers, funds, partners, and allies to complete financing and move into production.

Atlas Development Prize - €5,000
A Childhood – Scandar Copti (Palestine/France/Denmark)
Producers: Jiries Copti, Tony Copti (Fresco Films), Jean Bréhat (Tessalit Productions), Rita Dagher (Senorita Films), Maria Westergren (ToolBox Film)
A Childhood is the third feature by Oscar-nominated Palestinian filmmaker Scandar Copti (Ajami [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film], Happy Holidays [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Scandar Copti
scheda film]), a hybrid documentary tracing the lives of children growing up under Israeli occupation. The film reveals what infancy, early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence become when lived under apartheid, where curiosity is met with suspicion, one’s imagination is policed, and safety is shattered by state violence. Through the night raids on the Al-Da’na family, the Haddads’ life behind checkpoints and the animated figure of “Prisoner X”, echoing the psychological collapse of Ahmad Manasra, the film blends eyewitness footage and animation to shine a light on a system designed to dominate and erase. The team is seeking co-producers, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters and additional funding ahead of its expected February 2027 delivery.

Vanda by Kamy Lara

Atlas Development Prize - €5,000
Vanda – Kamy Lara (Portugal/Angola)
Producers: Fernanda Polacow (Wonder Maria Filmes), Kamy Lara (Uika Filmes)
Vanda follows a woman of strict routines whose quiet, solitary life unfolds between the emotional weight of her work as a psychologist and the introspection she seeks within her Luanda apartment. As she meets with a range of patients, Vanda absorbs their struggles while carrying around her own unspoken grief. Outside, the city reveals its contrasts: poverty and hardship coexist with vibrancy, resilience and everyday joy, all observed through Vanda’s steady, contemplative gaze. Angolan filmmaker Kamy Lara crafts a deeply personal first feature rooted in Luanda’s social inequalities and the limited access to mental-health care in Angola. Vanda marks Lara’s transition from award-winning documentary (Para lá dos meus passos, Fuckin’ Globo) to fiction. The project is seeking co-producers, sales agents, distributors, and funds to complete its development and production.