“The Distant Sea” Wins Award at the Cinema and Migration Festival
The 21st edition of the Cinema and Migration Festival in Agadir came to a close on Saturday evening, with the feature film “La mer au loin” (The Distant Sea) winning three awards, including the festival’s Grand Prize.
After five days of film screenings, discussions, and training workshops attended by a group of artists and academic researchers from both Morocco and abroad, the awards ceremony took place at the Sahara Cinema Hall. The ceremony highlighted the success of this feature film directed by Saïd Hamich Ben El Arbi.
Additionally, the film won the Best Actor award, which went to actor Ayoub Ghrayti for his portrayal of “Noor,” a young man who secretly migrated from Morocco to Marseille, living on the fringes of society in absurd conditions until a meeting with the charismatic and temperamental police officer “Serge” and his wife “Nomi” turns his life upside down.
The actor also received a special award from the critics’ committee as a promising new talent. The award named after the late Beninese director Paulin Soumanou Vieyra (1925–1987) was given to the French-Palestinian film “Palestine Islands” by Julien Manto and Nour Ben Salem.
The Best Actress award was given to actress Safaa Gharbaoui for her role as “Aya” in the Belgian film “Têtes brûlées.”
The Tunisian director Khadija Lemkacher received the Directing Award for her film “Belles de nuit,” while Burkina Faso’s Dani Kouyaté won the Best Screenplay award for “Katanga: La valse des scorpions.”
Special mentions were awarded by the juries to “Ne réveillez pas l’enfant” by Kevin Aubert, as well as to Ilyas Qadri in “Belles de nuit,” and Soumia Akaboun for her role in “Como El Viento.”
This year’s edition showcased eight feature films and eight short films in the official competitions, all exploring the theme of migration. Angola was the guest of honor at the festival, with participation from several filmmakers from the southern African country.
The festival was organized by the “Cultural Initiative” Association in partnership with the Souss-Massa regional government, the regional council, the Agadir provincial council, the urban community of the city, the Moroccan diaspora council, the Moroccan Cinematic Center, and with support from various public and private partners.
