According to the organizers, this cultural event, featuring Palestinian cinema as the guest of honor for this edition, will showcase 24 films from Morocco and abroad, including 20 short films and 4 documentaries about history and the Sahrawi area, which will compete in the international competition for the festival awards.
These include international competition awards, the Grand Prize of Qasr Asa, the Jury Prize, the Best Director Award, and awards for Best Actor and Best Actress.
The international competition jury will be chaired by producer and filmmaker Nourredine Lakhmari, and will include film critic Amer from the East, director and producer Moulay Tayeb Bouhanana, director Alia Tuir, and Emirati filmmaker Abdullah Al-Junaibi.
The jury for the documentary films will be chaired by producer and director Mohammed Fadel Eljamani, with members including Palestinian director Mohammed Khamis and Amazigh artist Nour El Walititi.
This year’s edition of the festival will also include a screenwriting competition, led by film critic Abdel Nabi Dachin, with jury members including director Mohammed Hafidi and journalist Fatima Abunaji.
This year’s program features film screenings, a seminar on “Cinema and Human Issues,” open discussions about the realities of production and filming in the desert, training workshops for students, interested individuals, and professionals in training institutions, as well as an exhibition of visual arts and the launch of new publications, alongside tributes to national and international artistic figures. This year’s edition is organized with support from the Ait Asa-Zag Council, the Moroccan Cinematographic Center, the regional authorities, the Ait Asa municipality, the Guelmim-Oued Noun region, in partnership with the Regional Directorate of Culture, the Ministry of Handicrafts, Social Economy, and Solidarity, and the Regional Camping Office.
