A handful of Hollywood talent have joined South Korean auteur Bong Joon Ho on the jury at this year’s Marrakech International Film Festival.
Eight leading figures from four continents will decide on the prize winners at the Moroccan film fest, led by jury head and Oscar winner Bong (Parasite). With him will be American actress Jenna Ortega, best known for roles in Wednesday and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, British-Argentinian star of Dune: Part Two, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Queen’s Gambit Anya Taylor-Joy, as well as Past Lives and Materialists director Celine Song.
Also on the jury for the 22nd edition, announced Wednesday, is Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz, who won over international audiences with The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão, Moroccan filmmaker Hakim Belabbes, a key figure in intimate, memory-based cinema and French director Julia Ducournau, Palme d’Or winner for Titane.
They will preside on the jury alongside Iranian actor-director Payman Maadi, who rose to international fame in Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation.
The Marrakech Film Festival will take place in Morocco from Nov. 28 to Dec. 6. The award winners will be announced at the closing ceremony on Dec. 6.
Among the lineup at this year’s fest include key award contenders: Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire with Bill Skarsgard is set to open, followed by Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet.
The selection features 14 entries bidding for best international feature film at the Oscars, including My Father’s Shadow (U.K.), Palestine 36 (Palestine) The President’s Cake (Iraq) and The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia), which boasts Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix among its producers.
