The Marrakech International Film Festival lights up the Red City

From November 28 to December 6, 2025, Marrakech hosted the 22nd edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM), transforming the red city into a true world capital of cinema. The festival is renowned for being a unique meeting point where cinema, culture, and audiences from the five continents converge. Since the very first edition in 2001, Royal Air Maroc has been the official carrier and a faithful supporter of this flagship event, affirming its constant commitment to Moroccan culture and influence.

Bong Joon-Ho ©️ Cine21.

Panahi Jafar ©️ MajidSaeedi

Laurence Fishburne ©️ Art Streiber.

A celebration for all cinema

For lovers of the seventh art, the festival offered intense emotions. The 2025 selection brought together 82 films from 31 countries, including 8 world or international premieres and 14 Oscar contenders. Four tributes punctuated the evenings: to Jodie Foster, Guillermo del Toro, Raouya, and Hussein Fahmi, artists from Hollywood, Mexico, Morocco, and Egypt. Alongside them, a jury chaired by South Korean director and screenwriter Bong Joon-ho, winner of the Palme d’Or and multiple Oscars for his masterpiece Parasite, sparked animated debates and delivered an awards list that reflected the Festival: bold, open, and profoundly international.

Raouya©️Mohamed Jannat FIFM.

Hussein Fahmy©️ Nora Youssef Cairo InternationalFilm Festival.

Asmae el Moudir©️ DR.

Yousra ©️ DR.

A festival decidedly focused on the future

While the FIFM celebrates the great names of cinema, it is primarily focused on the future. Its Official Competition is dedicated to first and second feature films, offering young directors rare visibility and the opportunity to present their films to a passionate audience. The Festival has also contributed to structuring an entire ecosystem: in 2005, the École Supérieure des Arts Visuels de Marrakech (ESAV), inaugurated by His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid alongside Martin Scorsese, laid the foundation for a training sector in film and image professions. In addition to this, since 2018, the Atlas Workshops have been a program dedicated to supporting a new generation of Moroccan, African, and Arab filmmakers, from writing to distribution. Sponsored this year by the Romanian director and screenwriter Cristian Mungiu, this professional platform made Marrakech much more than a red carpet: it is a true incubator for the future faces of world cinema.