The 21st Marrakech International Film Festival is celebrating Moroccan cinema, including the premiere of Daoud Aoulad-Syad’s 'The Blue Lake' and a heartfelt tribute to late actress Naïma Elmcherqui.
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00:00I met Swiss blind people who came to the region to do a trekking to a lake called Lake Djeriki
00:28in the Moroccan desert, in Chigaga.
00:30And I asked the question, how do blind people come here to do a trekking?
00:35And among those people, there was a photographer, in addition.
00:38So I thought the idea was great.
00:40And from that moment on, we wrote the script, that's it.
00:44All the actors, it was an easy choice, because I only take people who do theater,
00:49great actors with whom I have already worked.
00:53But the most difficult is the child.
00:55Because I don't want to take a child who is not blind and who plays the film.
01:00I said no.
01:02But as he was well surrounded by real actors, so they integrated him.
01:07But of course, there is time, there are a lot of things and everything.
01:11And the result, I think it is very, very, very good.
01:14Tonight, the 21st edition wanted to pay tribute to a renowned actress,
01:18Naima Emecherki, who died on October 5th.
01:22Her daughter, Yasmina Hayat, came to accept this price.
01:25The mourning will take its time.
01:27Life is like that.
01:29But at the same time, we feel a communion of the film community
01:35to honor her memory, to especially honor her commitment
01:39for Moroccan theater, for Moroccan cinema and for the arts.
01:43Her commitment will also be celebrated tonight.
01:46You know, she did a lot for the promotion and emancipation of the Moroccan woman,
01:50of the youth and children.
01:52You don't know that.
01:54She was a volunteer ambassadress for UNICEF
01:56and she really did everything she could.