The Marrakech International Film Festival is likely to setup its own market, artistic-director Bruno Barde has told ScreenDaily.com.

"We will organise a small market for theArabic countries," Barde said, but declined to give further details ofwhat form such a market might take.

Put together in frantic haste in a littleunder three months, the fourth edition of the festival, which ended at theweekend, attracted a small army of international guests, many of them with noparticular project to tout.

Sean Connery received a Lifetime AchievementAward as did Egyptian auteur, Youssef Chahine, and Italian actress, ClaudiaCardinale. Oliver Stone was on hand for a special screening of Alexander.Charlotte Rampling was giving interviews, while Marisa Paredes and VictoriaAbril were also in town.

Laurence Fishburne, in Marrakech to presentConnery with his award, revealed further details of his new project, TheAlchemist, an adaptation of jury member Paulo Coelho's book which Fishburneis likely to direct, with considerable Moroccan state support.

Fishburne was one of the few prominentAmerican guests. Festival Director Melita Toscan Du Plantier acknowledged that"American people are still a little bit scared (to come). It's a shamebecause this festival is very important politically because it shows that in aMuslim country, there is an opening in the world. We have no censorship."

Teething problems still remain as thefestival tries to appeal to both international guests and local audiences.Official screenings in the vast Palais Des Congres were sparsely attended,largely because the locals were not allowed in.

"The problem last year was thatsometimes here the public was not very disciplined. In the screenings, theykeep their mobiles on, they talk, they go out, they come back," DuPlantier said of the decision to keep Moroccan audiences out of screenings inthe Palais. But she pointed out that the films in the Festival were allsubsequently shown for the public in downtown cinemas.

The dates for next year are yet to be set.The event is looking for a slot that clashes neither with Ramadan nor with anyof the other festivals in an increasingly busy autumn calendar.

"We still have things that we need toget better," Du Plantier said. "We have only four years behind us.You go to Venice and it is a big mess - and it has been going for years andyears."

Sideways was voted best film at the festival (See separate story on ScreenDaily.com