Cannes Palme d’Or winning Romanian director Cristian Mungiu has been named as the 2025 patron of the Marrakech International Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops, following in the footsteps of Jeff Nichols last year. Regarded as a major figure in contemporary European auteur cinema, Mungiu won the Palme d’Or in 2007 for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, with other award-winning films including Beyond the Hills, Graduation, and R.M.N..Created in 2018, the Atlas Workshops are the heart of the Atlas Programs, Marrakech’s recently created banner gathering all the professional initiatives supported by the festival foundation. As the patron of the workshops, Mungiu will mentor the 28 projects in this year’s selection, with their directors known as the “Class of Cristian Mungiu”. “I am very happy to get back to Marrakech, a vibrant festival that uses the power of cinema to promote and unite people from different corners of the world,” said Mungiu. “I gladly accept the position of Patron of the Atlas Workshops for 2025, hoping that from this encounter, both the filmmakers I am going to meet and I myself will have a lot to learn. I believe cinema is a great tool for investigating reality and getting to know the Other despite all stereotypes, and that we should use it as a tool to help us focus on what unites us rather than on differences of opinions we might have,” said Mungiu. This year’s edition of the Atlas Workshops will present 28 projects, spanning 12 projects in development, 10 films of which are shooting or in post-production; five first Moroccan fiction features in development in the Atlas Close-Ups sidebar and one Moroccan feature nearing completion and seeking a festival premiere in the Atlas Film Showcase section.
The 2025 Selection
Projects in development AKAL – Basma Rkioui (Morocco) | 1st feature documentaryCHAPA 100 – Ique Langa (Mozambique) | 2nd fiction featureCHENTIAN – Suha Arraf (Palestine) | 2nd fiction featureA CHILDHOOD – Scandar Copti (Palestine) | 3rd feature documentaryLES DIEUX DÉLINQUANTS – Boubacar Sangaré (Burkina Faso) | 1st fiction featureHOLD ME (IF YOU WANT) – Mounia Akl (Lebanon) | 2nd fiction featureLAST COW – Amil Shivji (Tanzania) | 2nd fiction featureTHE MARCHES – Vatche Boulghourjian (Lebanon) | 2nd fiction featureSIMÉON IDRISS – Zineb Wakrim (Morocco) | 1st fiction featureUNDER GREEN SKIES – Jad Chahine (Egypt) | 1st fiction featureUNDER HER EYE – Amjad Al Rasheed (Jordan) | 2nd fiction featureVANDA – Kamy Lara (Angola) | 1st fiction feature
Films Shooting or In DevelopmentDON’T LET THE SUN GO UP ON ME – Asmae El Moudir (Morocco) | 2nd feature documentary GOMA ENOUGH IS ENOUGH (GOMA TROP C’EST TROP) – Elisé Sawasawa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) | 1st feature documentaryGREY GLOW (LUEUR GRISE)– Michèle Tyan (Lebanon) | 1st fiction featureLA MÁS DULCE – Laïla Marrakchi (Morocco) | 3rd fiction featureORIENT ADAGIO (QITAR AL-SHARQ AL-BATI’) – Maha Haj (Palestine) | 3rd fiction featureSAFE EXIT – Mohammed Hammad (Egypt) | 2nd fiction featureTHE STATION – Sara Ishaq (Yemen) | 1st fiction featureTRIP TO JERUSALEM – Michel Zarazir and Gaby Zarazir (Lebanon) | 1st fiction featureVAGABONDS – Amartei Armar (Ghana) | 1st fiction featureWOLVES – Rami Kodeih (Lebanon) | 1st fiction feature
Atlas Film ShowcaseEARTH AND ASHES (TERRE ET CENDRES)– Leyna Tahiri (Morocco) | 1st fiction featureINTO THE BLUE NIGHT (VERS LA NUIT BLEUE) – Halima Elkhatabi (Morocco) | 1st fiction featureREMONTADA – Reda Lahmouid (Morocco) | 1st fiction featureTHE TANJAWI (LE TANGÉROIS) – Zahoua Raji & Ayoub Layoussifi (Morocco) | 1st fiction featureTODAY, I AM 25 YEARS OLD – Shaden Safieddine Tazi (Morocco) | 1st fiction feature
Atlas Film ShowcaseUNTIL DAWN (JUSQU’À L’AUBE)– Mohamed Zineddaine (Morocco) | fiction feature
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