Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho will mentor filmmakers at the 9th edition of the Marrakech Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops, which features 30 selected projects.

Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho has been named the patron for the 9th edition of the Atlas Workshops, the Marrakech Film Festival’s professional platform for Arab, African, and Moroccan cinema. Taking place from November 22 to 26, the event will see Mendonça Filho serve as a mentor to participating filmmakers. The festival also unveiled a selection of 30 projects chosen from hundreds of submissions to participate in this year's workshops.

Selection and Program Details

The 30 selected projects were chosen from a pool of submissions that reached 410 according to Deadline, while Variety reported 320 projects in development and 90 in production or post-production. The lineup is divided into 14 projects in development, 11 films in production or post-production, and five projects in the Atlas Close-Ups section, which focuses on Moroccan cinema. The participating projects represent 14 countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Rwanda, Senegal, and Tunisia.

Featured Filmmakers and Mentorship

The development category features work from established directors such as Amjad Abu Alala, Laila Abbas, Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia Alaoui, and Yasmine Benkiran. Atlas Workshops head Hédi Zardi noted a strong presence of female Moroccan directors in the selection. The program also includes debut features from newcomers, including Sarra Ryma and Dyana Gaye. Mendonça Filho, whose recent film 'The Secret Agent' earned a best director award at Cannes, two Golden Globes, and four Academy Award nominations, expressed that mentoring new generations of filmmakers serves as inspiration for his own work.