Latest news with #MoroccanCinematheque
Ya Biladi
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Ya Biladi
Moroccan actor Ayoub Gretaa wins Best Actor award at Belgium's Love Film Festival
Moroccan actor Ayoub Gretaa has won the Best Actor award at the 40th edition of the Love International Film Festival (LIFF), which took place from March 7 to 15, 2025, in Mons, Belgium. The award recognizes the exceptional performance of Gretaa, who portrayed the character of Nour in «Across the Sea» by Saïd Hamich Benlarbi. This is the second film by the French-Moroccan director, which was screened during the Critics' Week at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and was also selected for the international competition at the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM 2024). It was later shown to wider Moroccan audiences as part of the Rep-rise program of the Moroccan Cinematheque, where it received widespread praise. Supported by the Atlas Workshops, the industry program of the FIFM, the film is a romance centered around Nour, a 27-year-old undocumented migrant in 1990s Marseille. Living by selling goods on the street, the young man's marginalized life is turned upside down by an encounter with a policeman and his wife, which leads the protagonist to question his life choices. «Ayoub Gretaa, in the role of Nour, embodies a complex and moving character, whose journey is marked by love, self-discovery, and social realities», states a press release. Trained at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Art (ISADAC) in Rabat, Ayoub Gretaa masterfully plays his first leading role in cinema, now emerging as a rising star on the international acting scene. On television, he has distinguished himself in Moroccan TV series, including l'Maktoub and Dem Lmachrouk on 2M. Elsewhere, Across the Sea has won several accolades, including the Audience Award at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival (Germany) and the CampUS Jury Award at the Seville International Film Festival (Spain). The film is produced by Barney Production (France), in co-production with MontFleuri Production (Morocco) and Tarantula (Belgium).
Ya Biladi
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Ya Biladi
Rabat's 7th Art Cinema reopens after years of renovation
After years of construction, the 7th Art Cinema in Rabat reopened its doors on Sunday, February 16. An emblematic landmark in the city center, the movie theater resumed service by offering one screening per day, showcasing 12 feature films from the official selection of the latest edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM 2024). Initiated by the Moroccan Cinematheque, this diverse «Rep-rise» program will run from the 16th to the 27th of this month. The opening film was Happy Holidays by Scandar Copti, Golden Star of the 21st edition of FIFM. This Monday, the screening will be The Across the Sea by Franco-Moroccan director Saïd Hamich Belarbi. Other works will follow, offering an opportunity to make this selection accessible to a broader audience while providing a window into world cinemas: Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Somalia, and more. As part of this program, the documentary The Thousand and One Days of Hajj Edmond by Simone Bitton will be screened on February 24, while Diaries from Lebanon by Myriam El Hajj will be screened on the 26th of this month. The launch of this cycle took place the day after the official inauguration of the Moroccan Cinematheque. The 7th Art Cinema is resuming service after several years of work on the theater, as well as on the entire pedestrian area between Allal Benabdellah Avenue and Mohammed V. In this context, the project notably allowed this site to regain its original appearance, after the demolition of the café added to it in 1997. This work was carried out in accordance with commitments made as part of Rabat's inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The mineral and green space behind the city's first courthouse have been restored to its original state.
