MEDI1TV Afrique : Festival international du film de Marrakech, Omar Victor Diop et la mer au loin - 30/11/2024
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00:00It is with great pleasure that we meet you on Mediain TV for this new cultural stopover in the heart of Africa.
00:17In a few moments, we will focus on Omar Victor Diop, one of the most promising photographers on our continent.
00:25But first of all, here is our guest of the day.
00:30And today, you guessed it, cinema is in the spotlight with the return of the Marrakech International Film Festival.
00:45And who better to talk to us about it than Ani Haji, general coordinator of the festival.
00:49He has been with us since Marrakech. Hello.
00:54Hello Amna, thank you for having me today.
00:57It's a real pleasure to have you here.
01:00Saturday, the opening of the festival.
01:07And it is true that at each new edition, great moments are offered to the public.
01:13And we look forward to it with impatience.
01:15And in your opinion, what will be the highlights of this new edition?
01:22There will be a lot for this 21st edition.
01:26I can mention the tributes that the festival will pay to the great personalities of national and global cinema.
01:35You know, it's a tradition at the Marrakech Festival.
01:37Every year, we pay tribute to great names who have marked the cinematographic landscape of our country and in the world.
01:46This year, there are three.
01:48First of all, it is Feu Naeman Shabri who left us at the beginning of last October.
01:52She is very close to the festival since she was a member of the board of directors of the foundation that organizes it.
01:59She will be paid a posthumous tribute.
02:03But also the director and actor American Sean Penn, double Oscar winner,
02:09who comes for the first time to Morocco and therefore to the Marrakech Festival.
02:15And finally, the great Canadian director, cult, David Cronenberg,
02:21to whom we owe a number of films of rather horrific genres,
02:25like La Mouche in the 1980s,
02:27or more recently, films like Maps to the Stars,
02:31or the last one, Les Linceuls, which we will present in Gala on the evening of his tribute.
02:36We can also mention the films.
02:40There is an opening of the festival this year, The Order,
02:43which is a political thriller directed by the Australian Justin Kurzel,
02:48who became famous with the British star Jude Law.
02:51It is an absolutely breathtaking film that takes place in the 1980s
02:56in the midst of white supremacists in the United States,
02:59which will open the festival on Friday, November 29th.
03:06The competition and the main section of the festival will present 14 films,
03:12which are the first and second feature films of young filmmakers.
03:15You know, the competition of the Marrakech Festival has this particularity.
03:19It's a discovery competition, so it's really about putting the accent,
03:23putting the light on the young, the promising new voices of world cinema,
03:29whose works are exhibited to very prestigious juries.
03:33This year, we have a wonderful jury,
03:36which will be chaired by the Italian director Luca Guadagnino,
03:41who has a brilliant international career.
03:45We owe him, in particular, films like Call Me By Your Name,
03:48which revealed the star Timothée Chalamet,
03:51but also recently Challengers, which is this film about tennis champions,
03:57which was very successful this year,
03:59with the rising star of Hollywood, Zendaya.
04:05Around Luca Guadagnino,
04:07we will find all kinds of brilliant personalities,
04:11at least just as brilliant.
04:13Patricia Arquette, the American actress,
04:15the Belgian actress Virginie Effira,
04:17the actors Andrew Garfield, who is American-British,
04:22and Jacob Elordi, who comes from Australia,
04:25the Moroccan actress Nadia Kounda,
04:27but also the directors Santiago Mitre from Argentina,
04:30Alia Abassi from Iran, and Zoya Akhtar,
04:33who is a director from Bollywood,
04:36one of the most illustrious Indian directors.
04:41At the same time,
04:44we will present the program of conversations with a novelty this year,
04:50since the festival extends to M Avenue,
04:54this complex near the Palais des Congrès,
04:58where the whole week of the festival
05:01a number of actions will be carried out
05:05for the general public and cinephiles,
05:08including the installation of the program of conversations
05:11within the Maiden Theatre,
05:13which is inside the M Avenue complex.
05:18It's a very promising edition.
05:23There are 71 films from 32 countries,
05:26distributed in the different sections.
05:28There are competition films, gala films, special sessions,
05:32a panorama of Moroccan cinema,
05:34a section called the 11th Continent,
05:36which is a section dedicated to bold, innovative films,
05:40but also a section dedicated to young audiences and families,
05:45since we present films for teenagers.
05:50It starts from 4 to 18 years old,
05:53and in this same section,
05:55we also present popular comedies,
05:58field and action films,
06:03notably Indian.
06:05It's a very rich edition,
06:10both through the films we present,
06:13the program of conversations that knows a real rise in power,
06:16and the novelties we offer through this extension on M Avenue.
06:22I would like to come back with you, Alice,
06:24to the Atlas workshops,
06:26which are a particularity,
06:28but also one of the most beautiful treasures
06:30of the Marrakech International Film Festival.
06:33And some novelties this year,
06:35can you tell us a little more about them?
06:39So yes, the Atlas workshops,
06:41we are in the 7th edition.
06:42It's an event created by the Marrakech Festival in 2018
06:45to support the emergence of this new generation
06:49of Moroccan, Arab and African filmmakers.
06:53Since its creation,
06:54the Atlas workshops have supported 152 projects and films,
07:00Moroccan, Arab and African,
07:02including 60 Moroccan films.
07:05So this year,
07:06in line with the previous editions,
07:09and what happened during the last edition,
07:13because of the festival,
07:15because we saw this historic victory of Asmal Moudir,
07:18who won the Golden Star of the Marrakech Festival,
07:21with The Mother of All Lies.
07:23The Mother of All Lies,
07:24which is a film that was presented twice
07:27at the Atlas workshops,
07:29and which won two prizes
07:31during these two sessions at the workshops.
07:34And Asmal said very well,
07:37on the evening of his victory last year,
07:39that the Atlas workshops were an accelerator
07:43in the production and editing of his film.
07:47So this year,
07:48we wanted, in this momentum,
07:50an extremely positive momentum, of course,
07:53to continue the evolutions,
07:56to make these Atlas workshops evolve,
07:58and we are going to propose a number of novelties.
08:02The first is that the Atlas workshops,
08:04which are intended for professionals,
08:06so for professionals from the region,
08:08but also for international professionals
08:10who come to participate.
08:12We have about 300 each year.
08:15We wanted to add a day,
08:17so instead of lasting four days,
08:20the workshops will last five days this year.
08:22There will also be a day dedicated to distribution,
08:25because we bring in distributors.
08:28Last year, we launched this program
08:30called Atlas Distribution Awards,
08:32which allowed Moroccan, Arab and African films
08:36that were scheduled for the Marrakech Festival
08:39to be able to apply for a grant
08:44to support the release of these films
08:47in Morocco, Africa and the Arab world.
08:50And so, in the continuity of these projects
08:54dedicated to distributors,
08:56we wanted to open a whole day this year
08:59for distributors,
09:01who will come to discuss a number of issues,
09:05news related to their profession.
09:09And finally, a new innovation,
09:13a new initiative,
09:15which is very important to us.
09:17It's Atlas Stations.
09:19It's a new program
09:21for ten young Moroccan filmmakers and producers
09:24to help them develop their skills
09:28in order to open their international projects.
09:33We often know that young filmmakers and producers,
09:35when they start,
09:37are not necessarily well equipped
09:39with the tools they need
09:41to present themselves
09:43in the various countries
09:45where they can apply for international funding.
09:47There are several,
09:48whether it's in our region of the world,
09:50or in Europe, or even in America,
09:52where there is this possibility
09:55to open their projects
09:57to labs,
09:59professional events,
10:01foundations,
10:03which can help a film
10:06find the necessary funding
10:09to be made.
10:11So, this year,
10:12we're going to work with these ten young filmmakers
10:14and producers
10:16to help them acquire the necessary skills
10:19so that they can then
10:21go international
10:23and apply for funding.
10:27Well, Ali Haji,
10:28thank you very much for being with us.
10:30Have a great festival,
10:32and see you soon.
10:33Thank you very much.
10:36Thank you very much, Amna.
10:37See you soon.
10:44And after talking about Cinema Focus
10:46on Omar Diop,
10:48Victor,
10:49one of the most promising photographers
10:51on our continent,
10:52he started photography in 2012.
10:54Self-taught,
10:55he enrolled directly
10:57in the African studio heritage
10:59where he invested the codes
11:01thanks to the art of self-portrait.
11:03Moreover,
11:04it must be said that his signature
11:06already appears in Omar Victor Diop,
11:08gives a particular place
11:10to the staging of colors,
11:12costumes, materials and lights.
11:14Then in 2014,
11:15Omar Victor Diop
11:16signed with the series
11:17Diaspora,
11:1818 self-portraits
11:19through which the artist
11:20positions himself
11:21both as narrator
11:23and figure of his work.
11:25Titled Initié,
11:26during an artist's residence
11:28in Malaga,
11:30this work questions,
11:31it must be known,
11:32the condition of foreigners
11:33embodied, according to Omar Victor Diop,
11:36by the black body.
11:38He therefore draws his references
11:40in the history and image
11:41of former characters.
11:43Omar Victor Diop
11:44highlights African history
11:46in the world,
11:47Africa out of Africa,
11:48through self-portrait
11:50of himself,
11:51which is fed
11:52by some historical characters.
11:54In any case,
11:55the work of Omar Victor Diop
11:56first questions the author,
11:58his point of view
11:59as an African,
12:00a testimony.
12:02It must be said
12:03that this Diaspora,
12:04his exhibition testifies.
12:06Let's take a look.
12:09Diaspora is a series
12:11that shows forgotten characters
12:15of African history,
12:17but of the world.
12:19People who were sent to Europe
12:22either as slaves
12:24or as diplomats
12:26of the African kingdoms.
12:28And these are people
12:29who, despite all this,
12:31have fallen from the pages
12:33of history books.
12:41Liberty is a series
12:43that does the same work,
12:46but above all
12:47on the movements
12:48of black protest.
12:50This image of the Senegalese
12:51shooter who turns to us
12:53and asks us
12:55if we have forgotten him or not.
12:57Whatever the image,
12:58these heroes
12:59are what they expect from us,
13:01that we remember them.
13:04When we talk about the French Revolution,
13:06very few young Africans
13:08know that
13:10in the first French National Assembly
13:13there was Jean-Baptiste Belay,
13:15who was born on the island of Gorée,
13:17a slave who crossed himself
13:19and was going to fight for the Republic.
13:21I think that knowing this
13:23creates a feeling of pride,
13:26finally,
13:28and a sense of pride
13:31that we belong
13:33to a line of people
13:35who have brought something
13:37to humanity.
13:41It must be said that
13:42Amar Victor Diop,
13:43through his work,
13:44highlights the African continent
13:46and its diaspora
13:47by proposing a universal reading
13:49of history
13:50and black protest.
13:52The Senegalese artist
13:54links visual references,
13:56mixes self-portraits
13:57and staging.
13:58The artist revises
14:00the striking events
14:02of African history
14:04linked by the same quest,
14:06that of freedom.
14:08With his series,
14:09Allegoria,
14:10Amar Victor Diop
14:11gives life to his thought.
14:12The photographer
14:13grasps the question
14:14of the environment
14:16and its reach
14:17on the African continent.
14:19His works become allegories,
14:21metaphors
14:22of a caring humanity,
14:24of a delicate nature.
14:27Amar Victor Diop
14:29distinguishes himself
14:30with a work
14:31that combines
14:32plastic arts,
14:33fashion
14:34and photographic portraiture.
14:35He particularly likes
14:36the mix of photography
14:38with other artistic forms,
14:40including textile creation,
14:42stylism
14:43and writing
14:44to give life to his art.
14:47Hi,
14:48I'm Amar Victor Diop,
14:49a photographer.
14:50I live in Dakar,
14:52Senegal,
14:53and I'm very happy
14:54to present you
14:55this image,
14:56which is the official visual
14:58of the African Cinema Festival
15:00of this year.
15:01It's a great pride
15:02because it's my way
15:04of contributing
15:05to this effort
15:07of the festival
15:08to show Africa
15:09in all its diversity
15:11and to show Africans
15:12with Africans
15:13and their everyday life,
15:16their dreams,
15:18their pain,
15:20but also their moments of joy,
15:23because that's often
15:24what's missing,
15:26that's what we forget.
15:28It's certainly a fabulous land,
15:30a land that makes you dream,
15:32but it's also the land
15:35and the countries
15:36of the people who live there,
15:38and I'm always very proud
15:41to participate
15:42in any effort
15:44to show us
15:46from an angle
15:48of truth.
15:50So congratulations
15:52and welcome
15:54to this world,
15:56which I hope
15:57will be the world
15:58after COVID-19,
16:00where we'll take more time
16:01to look each other in the eye
16:03and share our dreams
16:05and share our destinations.
16:07Enjoy it.
16:10It must be said
16:11that for Omar Victor Diop,
16:12art is the only dialogue
16:13that will never stop.
16:14Omar Victor Diop
16:15has as a project
16:16to capture the diversity
16:17of societies
16:18and ways of life
16:19of contemporary Africa.
16:21The work of Omar Victor Diop
16:23makes the link
16:24between the history
16:25and modernity
16:26of African societies,
16:27whether by sublimating
16:28their lifestyle
16:29or coloring the image
16:30they make of themselves.
16:32It's been exactly 10 years
16:34since I grabbed a camera
16:35with the intention
16:36of showing
16:37the struggle of my people,
16:38their moments of pride,
16:40their altruism,
16:41their incredible diversity
16:43and their ability
16:44to adapt.
16:45I think that authenticity
16:47is not just
16:48an aspect of personality,
16:49I see it as a freedom.
16:51Authenticity
16:52is not just
16:53being the same
16:54in every situation,
16:55it's the freedom
16:56to give yourself
16:57as many facets
16:58as life has carved in us.
17:00No one can decide
17:01how you are going
17:02to be African.
17:03No one can decide
17:04how you are going
17:05to be Parisian
17:06or Chinese
17:07or...
17:10Even Mobutu
17:11cannot decide
17:13for the Congolese
17:14what it is
17:15to be Congolese.
17:16We are not the same
17:17and fortunately,
17:18we are not
17:20the same photographers,
17:22we are all equal
17:23because we have
17:24a view
17:25that is ours.
17:28My message
17:29is addressed
17:30to the artistic community.
17:32I realize
17:33that sometimes
17:34through ease,
17:36sometimes
17:37through the need
17:38to stay
17:39in a comfort zone
17:40and also through the desire
17:41to communicate
17:42and to please,
17:43which is natural,
17:44we end up
17:45in situations
17:46where we abdicate
17:47and we do
17:48what is expected
17:49of us.
17:50We have themes
17:51of free elections
17:52because we are
17:53talking about Africa,
17:54we are talking about
17:55the less pink side,
17:56we are talking about
17:57things that are
17:58difficult.
17:59Either way,
18:00it is good,
18:01we must do it,
18:02we must absolutely
18:03document the tragedies
18:04that are happening
18:05in our continent
18:06but we owe
18:07to this continent
18:08which is so full
18:09of diversity,
18:10so full
18:11of positive things
18:12that are happening,
18:13we owe
18:14to communicate
18:15about
18:16everything
18:17and when
18:18I bring this
18:19to my person,
18:20I am in
18:21a phase
18:22where I think
18:23it will last
18:24my whole career.
18:25I also need,
18:26because of
18:27authenticity,
18:28precisely because
18:29I need to make
18:30my story
18:31and my dreams
18:32transparent
18:33and to speak
18:34in a common language
18:35I need to speak
18:36about my delusions
18:37of a young
18:38photographer
18:39from Senegal.
18:40I need to
18:41speak about
18:42this Africa
18:43which is mine
18:44and the Africa
18:45that I know,
18:46the one in which
18:47I live
18:48is an Africa
18:49which is diverse,
18:50it is an Africa
18:51which is open
18:52to the world,
18:53which has a game,
18:54an exchange
18:55of influence
18:56with the world.
19:02And right now
19:03we talk about cinema
19:04with the mother
19:05far from Seyed
19:06Hamid Jbalarbi,
19:07divided into three chapters,
19:08each bearing the name
19:09of one of the main
19:10characters of history
19:11had made,
19:12I recall,
19:13his first
19:14film,
19:15La Semaine de la Critique,
19:16of the 77th
19:17Cannes Film Festival.
19:18And this time
19:19he is in the official
19:20competition of the
19:21International Film Festival
19:22of Marrakech.
19:23This story
19:24takes place
19:25over ten years
19:26and follows a young
19:27Moroccan
19:28who tries to make
19:29his life in France
19:30and the second
19:31feature film of
19:32Seyed Hamid Jbalarbi,
19:33after Retour à Boleyn,
19:34in his first film already,
19:35the director
19:36Seyed Hamid Jbalarbi
19:37is interested
19:38in another young
19:39person torn
19:40between his Maghreb roots,
19:41his childhood
19:42in the south-east of France
19:43and Abu Dhabi,
19:44without forgetting
19:45his relationship
19:46with his little
19:47American friend.
19:48It must be said
19:49that the film
19:50is well directed,
19:51that it is well played,
19:52these are the attributes
19:53that we notice
19:54in the film,
19:55while he embarks
19:56above all
19:57in Noor's journey
19:58through this journey
19:59and is played
20:00by Ayoub Greta
20:01and it is with him
20:02that the first chapter
20:03begins,
20:04entitled
20:051990.
20:06Let's watch
20:07an excerpt
20:08of the trailer.
20:14I didn't want to take you
20:15to the hospital.
20:16I don't know who
20:17you would have turned to
20:18after that.
20:21I don't even know
20:22what it took me
20:23to bring you home.
20:24It's totally forbidden.
20:36Why are you doing this?
20:43I don't know.
20:44When I saw you yesterday,
20:47I recognized you.
20:48I said to myself,
20:51I still have to help her.
20:54It's a sign of fate.
20:59Beyond the Sea,
21:00a superb film
21:02divided into three parts,
21:03three chapters.
21:04We find the main character
21:06in Marseille
21:07with a bunch of
21:08concerned compatriots
21:09who arrived illegally
21:10and who live
21:11from day to day
21:12as small criminals
21:13in particular.
21:14Of course,
21:15inevitably,
21:16this kind of activity
21:17has a price.
21:18One day,
21:19the group
21:20will disperse.
21:21A friend of Nour's
21:22is brought back
21:23by force into her family.
21:24Another
21:25obtains the arranged
21:26marriage.
21:27A third
21:28finds a small
21:29local friend
21:30and a fourth
21:31gets a job.
21:32Nour is left
21:33alone,
21:34disemboweled,
21:35without papers,
21:36without money,
21:37literally in the street,
21:38in the rain.
21:39And that's where
21:40Serge's second chapter
21:41begins.
21:42Nour has a lot
21:43of indulgences
21:44with Nour.
21:45And now,
21:46under the title
21:471992,
21:48he does the same thing again.
21:49He takes her home,
21:50meets her wife
21:51and her son.
21:52Noémie is the name
21:53of the third chapter
21:54of Nour's
21:55moving journey
21:56from exile
21:57to existence.
21:58Beyond the Sea,
21:59a film
22:00to discover urgently.
22:04And before we leave
22:05in Africa,
22:06in culture,
22:07on the occasion
22:08of its 21st edition
22:09which will take place
22:10in Marrakech,
22:11the International Film Festival
22:12of Marrakech
22:13will present a selection
22:14of 70 films
22:15from 32 countries,
22:16several sections,
22:17competition and official,
22:18gala sessions,
22:19special sessions,
22:2011th continent,
22:21the panorama of cinema,
22:22Moroccan,
22:23without forgetting
22:24the youth,
22:25public and family
22:26sessions,
22:27many films projected.
22:2812 films,
22:29moreover,
22:30have benefited,
22:31I remind you,
22:32from the support
22:33of the Atlas workshops,
22:34the development
22:35industry program,
22:36talents initiated
22:37by the festival
22:38in 2018.
22:39The new talents
22:40of world cinema
22:41through 14 first
22:42and second films.
22:43Morocco,
22:44of course,
22:45in honor with
22:46Seyed Hamish Balarbi
22:47or Hind,
22:48Medeb,
22:49who will present
22:50The Far Sea
22:51or a film
22:52of light love
22:53on exile
22:54and Sudan,
22:55Remember You,
22:56another political
22:57resistance
22:58and Sudanese youth.
22:59A very beautiful program
23:00that awaits you
23:01and we arrive
23:02at the end
23:03of Africa in culture.
23:04Thank you
23:05for being with us
23:06and we will meet again
23:07very soon
23:08in another film.
23:09Goodbye.