• Director Melita Toscan Du Plantier, left, and actor Mads Mikkelsen, at the screening of Hit Man during the 20th Marrakech International Film Festival. EPA
    Director Melita Toscan Du Plantier, left, and actor Mads Mikkelsen, at the screening of Hit Man during the 20th Marrakech International Film Festival. EPA
  • Willem Dafoe, left, and filmmaker Giada Colagrande on the red carpet during the opening ceremony. EPA
    Willem Dafoe, left, and filmmaker Giada Colagrande on the red carpet during the opening ceremony. EPA
  • Actress Jessica Chastain on the red carpet. EPA
    Actress Jessica Chastain on the red carpet. EPA
  • Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. EPA
    Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. EPA
  • Actress Tilda Swinton on the red carpet. EPA
    Actress Tilda Swinton on the red carpet. EPA
  • Writer Leila Slimani. EPA
    Writer Leila Slimani. EPA
  • Dafoe and Mikkelsen, who received a lifetime achievement award. EPA
    Dafoe and Mikkelsen, who received a lifetime achievement award. EPA
  • From left, Camille Cottin, Dee Rees, Dafoe, Joel Edgerton, Mikkelsen with his career achievement award, Chastain, Slimani, Joanna Hogg, Tarik Saleh, Zar Amir Ebrahim, and Alexander Skarsgard on stage during the opening ceremony. EPA
    From left, Camille Cottin, Dee Rees, Dafoe, Joel Edgerton, Mikkelsen with his career achievement award, Chastain, Slimani, Joanna Hogg, Tarik Saleh, Zar Amir Ebrahim, and Alexander Skarsgard on stage during the opening ceremony. EPA
  • Chastain takes to the stage. EPA
    Chastain takes to the stage. EPA
  • Actress Aouatefe Lahmani on the red carpet. EPA
    Actress Aouatefe Lahmani on the red carpet. EPA
  • Actress Fatima Ezzahra El Jaouhari. EPA
    Actress Fatima Ezzahra El Jaouhari. EPA
  • Tarik Saleh on the red carpet. AP
    Tarik Saleh on the red carpet. AP

Culture

Film & TV

Martin Scorsese cancels appearance at Marrakech Film Festival

Oscar winner pulls out due to personal reasons hours after star-studded opening ceremony, reports say

Evelyn Lau
Evelyn Lau

November 25, 2023

  • English
  • Arabic

Martin Scorsese has cancelled his appearance at the Marrakech International Film Festival at the eleventh hour.

He was due to appear at the showcase, which began on Friday, as the special honourary guest. The Oscar-winning director was also due to mentor Mena filmmakers as the official patron for the event’s Atlas Workshops, with those participating to be known as the Class of Martin Scorsese.

Scorsese, who has attended the festival five times, is reportedly unable to travel due to personal reasons, although he has promised to return for a future event. No official statement has been released by the director or the festival.

Launched in 2018, the Atlas Workshops are an initiative to help Mena filmmakers by providing a space for exchanges between international professionals and regional talent. Scorsese will participate in several of the sessions.

Since its launch, the Atlas Workshops have supported 111 film projects, 48 of which are from Morocco.

Four Mena titles that have been shown at Cannes have gone through its programme, including Un Certain Regard Best Director winner The Mother Of All Lies by Asmae El Moudir and Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner Hounds by Kamal Lazraq. Amjad Al Rasheed’s Inshallah A Boy screened in Critics’s Week and was also selected for the Toronto International Film Festival, while Deserts by Faouzi Bensaidi was selected for the Directors' Fortnight.

Scorsese is a long-time supporter of the festival, having attended it five times since its creation in 2001.

News of the cancellation comes hours after a star-studded opening ceremony fronted by jury president Jessica Chastain during which Mads Mikkelsen was presented with the festival’s Etoile d’Or career award by Willem Dafoe.

The Atlas Workshop programme runs from Monday to Thursday, while the wider festival continues until December 3.

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

Mohamed bin Zayed Majlis
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Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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The biog

Year of birth: 1988

Place of birth: Baghdad

Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany

Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading

 

 

Updated: November 25, 2023, 6:52 AM
Film festivalsMorocco