Rabat — French Culture Minister Rachida Dati made a visit on Sunday to Morocco’s pavilion at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, which is currently running from May 13-24.
The visit gave young Moroccan filmmakers selected for the Morocco-France co-production workshop a chance to meet Dati.
The Moroccan emerging talents presented their fiction and animation feature film projects during the French minister visit.
In a statement to Morocco’s central news agency (MAP), Dati said it was “a pleasure to visit the Moroccan pavilion, which always welcomes many people and is very open.”
Morocco’s Secretary-General of the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication Abdelaziz El Bouzdaini, and the President of the French National Center for Cinema and Animation (CNC), Gaetan Bruel, joined the minister during the visit.
Speaking of cinema cooperation between Morocco and France, Dati recalled that the agreement signed last year with Moroccan Minister Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid is already showing results.
She said that the professional young Moroccans benefited from the agreement and “received joint support from Moroccan Cinema Center (CCM) and its French counterpart.”
Moroccan youth engagement in gaming, video, and animation film sectors received commend from the minister, describing the sectors as “high-growth” areas in Morocco.
“This expertise is very special, and we in France could also benefit from it.”
“This is a cooperation between equals where we have much to gain,” Dati added. She suggested it was time to consider the next steps, as “we are already very advanced” one year after signing the agreement.
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El Bouzdaini, who also serves as interim director of CCM, explained that following the bilateral agreement signed in 2024, a joint call for applications was launched months ago.
Out of about twenty projects received, five were selected, mostly from young directors working on their first or second films.
“Business-to-business meetings were organized today alongside the Festival,” allowing these project leaders to meet with about fifteen co-producers to discuss collaboration opportunities, he said.
Two projects were presented to the minister, namely a 3D animated feature film and a more traditional cinema project that incorporates artificial intelligence elements with a nod to animation.
Morocco has a strong presence at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, with a pavilion set up by the CCM at the international village and a stand at the film market dedicated to promoting Moroccan cinema.