The 19th edition of the Marrakech International Festival (FIFM) opened this Friday evening to last until the 29th. Having directed masterpieces that have marked the history of cinema, the Italian director Paolo Sorrentino will chair the festival jury.
It is this same jury, made up of big names like the Danish director Susanne Bier, the American actor and producer Oscar Isaac, the British actress Vanessa Kirby, the German actress Diane Kruger, the Australian director Justin Kurzel, the director and Lebanese actress Nadine Labaki, Moroccan director Laïla Marrakchi and French actor Tahar Rahim, who will award the Gold Star to one of the 14 first and second feature films in the international competition, dedicated to discovering filmmakers through the world.
For Sorrento, “The Marrakech Festival is for me the place where the dream of watching many films with Martin Scorsese came true, and spending whole days talking about cinema with him and other talented colleagues”.
“Returning this year as president of the jury is an honor. I believe, I want to believe, that the cinemas will fill up again and I’m sure that many beautiful films will be released soon. Witnessing this revival from such a symbolic place, discovering the cinema of tomorrow from such an interesting cultural and geographical point of view will be an additional gift.“, he says in an official statement.
Oscar-winning director and screenwriter Paolo Sorrentino is today one of the most famous and exciting (and passionate) representatives of Italian cinema. His work, rich in a dozen films and series, explores contemporary themes and delivers a singular reflection on power, politics and religion, among others.
An author with an abundant imagination, driven by a constantly renewed aesthetic ambition, Paolo Sorrentino has won awards at the biggest film festivals and events around the world.
Born in Naples in 1970, Paolo Sorrentino directed his first feature, L’uomo in più (The Extra Man), in 2001. It was selected for the Venice Film Festival the same year, marking the start of his collaboration with Toni Servillo with whom he will shoot several films.
His next six films were selected in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival. These are: Le conseguenze dell’amore (The consequences of love, 2004), L’amico di famiglia (The friend of the family, 2006), Il Divo (2008), which won the Jury Prize ; This must be the place (2011), shot in the United States with Sean Penn and Frances McDormand, La Grande Bellezza (2013) which won the Oscar and the Golden Globe for best foreign language film, Youth (2015), La giovinezza which brings together Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano and Jane Fonda.
The film received 3 European Film Awards, an Oscar nomination and two Golden Globe nominations. In 2016, The Young Pope, his first television series, received a Golden Globe nomination and two Emmy nominations.
In 2018, his eighth film, Loro (Silvio and the others) was selected at the Toronto Film Festival, while in 2019, Paolo Sorrentino directed the television series The New Pope with Jude Law and John Malkovich. In 2021, È stata la mano di Dio (The Hand of God) was presented at the Venice Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize. The film also received an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe nomination.