Three short films created by young students from Morocco’s Higher Institute of Audiovisual and Cinema Professions (ISMAC) have been awarded the MedFilm Festival Morocco prize for emerging cinematic talents.
The award, part of the 3rd MedFilm Festival Morocco under the theme “Mediterranean, a Sea of Cinema,” is a collaboration with ISMAC and the Italian Cultural Institute in Rabat.
According to the festival organizers, the prize includes three scholarships of €2,500, €1,500, and €1,000. The winner of the first prize will also participate in the 30th MedFilm Festival in Rome as part of the Methexis project.
Anas Bouzammour won the first prize for his documentary film named “Living,” which tells the story of a mother and her two children who have made a home in a remote cemetery, finding their own happiness in this unusual place.
The second prize went to Ibrahim Benjaber for his film entitled “A Day or Part of the Day,” while Soufien Salamat won the third prize for his film “Soul Balance.”
A jury that included Italian-Tunisian cinematographer Tarek Ben Abdallah and Italian directors Esmeralda Calabria and Gianfranco Pannone selected the three films from six entries.
The MedFilm Festival will take place from October 2-5 at Cinémathèque de Tanger in Tangier.
The Italian Embassy in Morocco and the Italian Cultural Institute in Rabat, in collaboration with the Methexis Onlus Association, the Hiba Foundation, the Renaissance Cinema in Rabat, the Tangier Cinematheque, and ISMAC Rabat, jointly co-sponsored the event to showcase the very best of Euro-Mediterranean cinema in Morocco.