Abdelaziz Bouzdaini, Director of the Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM), and Carlo Gentile, head of cinema at the international channel Rai, met in Venice on Sunday to discuss boosting film cooperation between Morocco and Italy and promoting Moroccan cinema.
At the 81st Venice International Film Festival, they agreed to make Moroccan films more visible in Italy and explore new opportunities to share Morocco’s cinematic heritage with a wider audience.
Bouzdainit told MAP that the plan involves Italy acquiring Moroccan films made before 2022 and showing restored classics from CCM’s collection, including films from the 1950s like “Soleil du Printemps” (Spring Sun) by Latif Lahlou.
He added that Rai will handle dubbing these films into Italian to introduce the Italian audience to Moroccan culture and cinema. The films will particularly target the Moroccan, Maghrebian, and Arab communities in Italy.
The meeting follows an earlier discussion with Gentile at the 76th Cannes Film Festival about strengthening cultural and professional ties between Morocco and Italy and finding new ways to collaborate in film and the arts.
Gentile expressed excitement about Moroccan cinema’s growth, noting that the goal of this partnership is to increase the presence of Moroccan films in Italy through TV broadcasts, film festivals, and cultural events like Moroccan film weeks. He also mentioned that films will be shown with Italian subtitles or dubbing to reach Italian audiences more effectively.
Gentile highlighted plans to hold meetings between producers from both countries to explore co-productions and scout locations in Morocco for future film projects.
Bouzdaini is leading a significant Moroccan delegation at the Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 28 to September 7.