The 19th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival came to a close this evening. After nine days of screenings and exchanges, the jury, chaired by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, unveiled the awards for this edition.

Alongside Sorrentino, the jury for this year's competition included British actress Vanessa Kirby, German actress Diane Kruger, Australian director and screenwriter Justin Kurzel, Lebanese director, screenwriter and actress Nadine Labaki, Moroccan director Laïla Marrakchi and French actor Tahar Rahim.
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ÉTOILE D'OR - FESTIVAL GRAND PRIZE
A tale of Shemroon
by Emad Aleebrahim Dehkordi (Iran)

JURY PRIZE (EXÆQUO)
Alma Viva
by Cristèle Alves Meira (Portugal)

The Blue Caftan
by Maryam Touzani (Morocco)

BEST DIRECTING PRIZE
Carmen Jacquier
for Thunder (Switzerland)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS
Choi Seung-Yoon
for Riceboy Sleeps by Anthony Shim (Canada)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR
Arswendy Bening Swara
for Autobiography by Makbul Mubarak (Indonesia)

In all, the jury watched 14 films in the Official Competition, representing 14 countries from 5 continents (Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Indonesia, Iran, Morocco, Mexico, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey).
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­Tributes and Emotion

The 19th edition was also marked by tributes to four great names in world cinema.
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­Indian actor Ranveer Singh expressed his "immense pride, as an ambassador of Indian cinema," to be honoured in Marrakech. Receiving his trophy from French actor Marion Cotillard, American director James Gray remarked that "Morocco and Marrakech hold a special place in my heart" before appealing to filmmakers and artists in general: "We need you because you open our minds and you comfort us."

Moroccan director, screenwriter and producer Farida Benlyazid -who was a member of the jury of the first edition of the Festival in 2001-did not hide her emotion when she received her tribute at this 19th edition. In her speech, she recalled that "the Festival was ready to commence on 28 September, but the fateful date of 11 September arrived. There was talk of cancelling the event but the King made a decision. By his will, the Festival went forward."

Scottish actor and producer Tilda Swinton shared a vibrant plea for cinema: "Cinema shows us who we are, in our great diversity. It reflects our desires, our failures, our triumphs and our dreams. Long live cinema and long live difference!"
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The jury of the three Atlas Post-Production Awards, composed of Gaia Furrer (Venice Days), Eric Lagesse (Pyramide Films) and Sébastien Onomo (Special Touch Studio), gave the awards to films INSHALLAH A BOY by Amjad Al Rasheed (Jordan), DISCO AFRIKA by Luck Razanajaona (Madagascar) and A GOLDEN LIFE by Boubacar Sangaré (Burkina Faso).

The jury of the four Atlas Development Awards, composed of producers Lamia Chraïbi (La Prod), Nicole Gerhards (Niko Film) and Farès Ladjimi (Supernova Films), awarded prizes to LA MER AU LOIN by Said Hamich (Morocco), PIGEON WARS by Dania Bdeir (Lebanon), DEMBA by Mamadou Dia (Senegal) and LËNDE by Katy Lena Ndiaye (Senegal).

In addition, the ARTEKINO International Prize, awarded by the Franco-German channel to a project in development, went to WHALE BELLY by Sameh Alaa (Egypt).

Over the course of five editions, this professional programme of the Marrakech International Film Festival has supported 111 projects and films, among them 48 from Morocco. As proof of the platform's success, many of the films that have received its support have been selected for and won awards at prestigious film festivals. This year, five films supported by the Atlas Workshops were selected by the Festival de Cannes (Ashkal by Youssef Chebbi and Under the Fig Trees by Erige Sehiri), the Venice International Film Festival (Queens by Yasmin Benkiran and The Damned Don't Cry by Fyzal Boulifa) and the Locarno Film Festival (Fragments from Heaven by Adnane Baraka), before having their premieres in the Middle East and Africa during this 19th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival.