The film “Snow and the bear” by Turkish Selcen Ergun was screened on Saturday, in preview, as part of the official competition of the 19th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival, organized until November 19 under the High patronage of King Mohammed VI.
The film depicts the story of Aslı who has just been appointed as a nurse in a remote small town where winter seems endless this year. In this harsh and endless winter, the most complex aspects of human nature come to light, following the sudden disappearance of a man from the city and the spread of rumors that the bears have emerged early from their hibernation. Power struggles, secrets and doubts beset Aslı. Although the bear is the protagonist of the novel as a supposed enemy, the growing fear of its appearance is greater than the enemy itself.
In her speech on the occasion of this preview, the director and screenwriter of the film underlined that this work is “special” for her, since it is a “touching story” which stands out from the genre of movies that have happy endings.
She added that the preparation of this cinematographic work was greatly affected by the Covid-19 health crisis, because “we were not sure at the time of being able to finish the film and present it to the public”.
Ergun did not hide his happiness to see “Snow and the bear”, which is his first feature film, selected from the list of films in official competition at the Marrakech International Film Festival, which resumed after two years of interruption due to the pandemic.
Selcen Ergun earned her Masters in Directing and Script Studies from Istanbul Bilgi University after studying Industrial Design and Visual Culture at Middle East Technical University. She participates in the Berlinale Talents and in the Artists’ Residence of the Medienboard Nipkow (Berlin Film Residencies). His short films Confrontations (2008) and A Sunny Day (2012) have been selected and awarded by many international festivals. Snow and the Bear (2022) is his first feature film.
In accordance with the orientation of the festival, the official competition will see the participation of first or second feature films from several directors around the world, with the aim of revealing and promoting new talents in international cinema.
In addition to “SNOW AND THE BEAR” by Selcem Ergun, the films in competition are: “LE BLEU DU CAFTAN” by Moroccan director Maryam Touzani, “ALMA VIVA” by Cristèle Alves Meira (Portugal), “ASHKAL” by Youssef Chebbi (Tunisia ), “ASTRAKAN” by David Depesseville (France), “AUTOBIOGRAPHY” by Makbul Mubarak (Indonesia), FARAWAY SONG (Cañçao ao Longe) by Clarissa Campolina (Brazil) and “PETROL” by Alena Lodkina (Australia).
Also in the running are “RED SHOES” (Zapatos rojos) by Carlos Kaiser Eichelmann (Mexico), “RICEBOY SLEEPS” by Anthony Shim (Canada), “SAVAGE” (Amina) by Ahmed Abdullahi (Sweden), “CHEVALIER NOIR” ( A Tale of Shemroon) by Emad Aleebrahim Dehkordi (Iran), “THE TASTE OF APPLES IS RED” (Ta’am al-tufah, ahmar) by Ehab Tarabieh (Syria) and “FOUDRE” (Thunder) by Carmen Jaquier (Switzerland) .