DUBAI: Moroccan actress Nadia Kounda stunned on the red carpet as her latest film, “Behind the Palm Trees,” had its world premiere at the Marrakech International Film Festival.
Kounda, dressed in a chic black embroidered dress, appeared alongside her fellow cast and crew members.
The film marks the sophomore outing of Meryem Benm’Barek, whose feature debut “Sofia” won best screenplay at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section.
Benm’Barek, who spent her time growing up between Morocco, France and Belgium, previously directed several short films, including the 2015 Oscar-nominated short, “Jennah.”
“Behind the Palm Trees” follows Mehdi, who leads an exemplary life in Marrakech with his family and Selma, his new girlfriend. Things go smoothly for the young couple until Mehdi meets Marie, a young French woman caught up in the social life of the expatriate community.
“What I want to do with this film is to introduce the audience into a romance that gradually leads us into an intimate thriller that portrays a youth which is disoriented by the violence of their political and social context,” said the director in an earlier interview with Variety.
Meanwhile, Hollywood stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Jenna Ortega and Jodie Foster were among those attending the festival’s opening ceremony last week.
South Korean director Bong Joon Ho, whose honors include an Oscar for 2019 film “Parasite” and who is serving as the festival’s jury president, received a standing ovation as he took to the stage.
The director, who will deliver a masterclass this week, is joined on the jury by “Wednesday” star Ortega, “Furiosa” actress Taylor-Joy, “Past Lives” and “Materialists” filmmaker Celine Song, “Titane” Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau, Brazilian director Karim Ainouz, Moroccan filmmaker Hakim Belabbes and US Iranian actor-director Payman Maadi. They will judge 14 features in the running for the festival’s Golden Star award.
The opening ceremony featured a screening of Gus Van Sant’s “Dead Man Wire.” The movie, which had its world premiere at Venice Film Festival, stars Bill Skarsgard as real-life criminal Tony Kiritsis, who in 1977 kidnapped his mortgage broker and proceeded to lead police on a wild goose chase.
BY: The Times Union
