Curtains Fall on the 28th Rabat International Author Film Festival

The 28th edition of the Rabat International Author Film Festival, which commenced on November 10, concludes today, November 17, with the announcement of the festival's awards.

The festival featured Croatian cinema as the honored guest for this edition, bringing together representatives from over 40 countries and showcasing dozens of feature and short films. Renowned directors with international acclaim enriched the festival's diverse program, making it a treat for cinema enthusiasts worldwide.

In the closing ceremony tonight, the festival will present "Mr. Blake At Your Service!," directed by Gilles Legardinier from France. The esteemed jury includes international directors and producers. Additionally, the short film jury, led by Moroccan director and writer Fouad Souiba, comprises professionals in the national and international cinema scene, including Egyptian critic Mervat Omar. Notably, for the first time, the festival hosts a jury from the International Federation of Film Critics, awarding the Critics' Prize for the best film in the festival.

The presence of this international critics' committee is a tacit recognition of the festival's evolution and professionalism, establishing it as a distinguished international platform for showcasing both national and global cinema.

Worth mentioning is that the Rabat International Author Film Festival competes with 12 films from various countries for its main competition awards. These include "Cera" by director Apolline Traoré from Burkina Faso, "Okiku and the World" by director Junji Sakamoto from Japan, and the world premiere of "Bosnian Pot/Bosanski lonac" by Croatian director Pavo Marinkovic.

Other competing films include "Backwards « Subuk" by director Jacek Lusiński from Poland, "Mother Valley" by director Carlos Chahine from Lebanon, "The Ordinary People" by directors Kanika Verma and Avinash Das from India, "Iman" by directors Korina Avramidou and Kyriakos Tofaridis from Cyprus, "Barbara's Voice" by director Tarek El Idrissi from Morocco, and "Conjugal Visit" by director Omid Shams from Iran, making its world premiere. "Comandante" by Edoardo De Angelis from Italy, "Drift" by Anthony Chen from the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, and "Gava Şitil Mezin Dibin" by Rêger Azad from Syria also join the competitive lineup.

Last year, Egyptian film “Feathers” by Omar El Zohairy continued its award-winning streak at the Rabat International Author Film Festival, as it won the Audience Award as well as Best Female Performance Award for Demyana Nassar jointly with the leading actress of the Iranian film ‘Titi.’

In January 2022, Feathers was screened at the fourth edition of the Al-Ain Film Festival in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

It was also screened at the first edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, back in December. Previously, the film competed at the Feature Film Competition of the Carthage Film Festival, where it won four awards — the Golden Tanit (The festival’s grand prize), the Golden Tanit for the Best First Feature Film for Omar Al-Zohairy, who won the Best Screenplay Award jointly with his co-screenwriter Ahmed Amer, and Best Female Performance for Demyana Nassar — who played the leading role in the film.