Marrakech opens its 23rd edition with Cotillard as jury president

The Marrakech International Film Festival announced on November 2, 2026 the official selection for its 23rd edition, scheduled from November 20 to 28. The festival brings together 76 films from 39 countries, ten of which are being presented in world premiere.

Opening the event will be Mona, a comedy directed by Jesse Eisenberg and starring Julianne Moore. The jury will be chaired by Marion Cotillard, the French Oscar-winning actress, whose appointment was announced on October 13.

Among the most anticipated titles is Artificial, the new film by Italian director Luca Guadagnino dedicated to the rise of Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI, with Andrew Garfield in the leading role. Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi will instead present Soudain, with Virginie Efira, while Nanni Moretti will bring Les Cœurs affamés to Marrakech, starring Louis Garrel and Jasmine Trinca.

Ample space is also reserved for local cinema: the Panorama of Moroccan Cinema will bring together six feature films between fiction and documentary, with Bardi by Tala Hadid as the section’s opening film and Cagoules by Mohamed Mouftakir presented in world premiere.

The presence of Guadagnino, Hamaguchi and Moretti in the same program reflects the editorial line of the Moroccan festival, which over the years has cultivated a direct dialogue between European, Asian and North American auteurs without giving up a section dedicated exclusively to national production. The choice to open with an English-language comedy such as Mona, alongside more experimental auteur titles, also signals an attempt to broaden the audience beyond the cinephile niche.

This year’s selection confirms the festival’s international vocation, placing European and North American productions side by side with the cinema of the host country, in a program spread over nine days of screenings. The number of world premieres — ten out of 76 titles — remains an indicator of the festival’s ability to attract still-unseen productions compared to other events competing in the same period of the year.