Marrakech’s Atlas Workshops unveils 28 projects by directors including Scandar Copti and Asmae El Moudir

New projects by directors including Scandar Copti, Amjad Al Rasheed and Asmae El Moudir are among 28 selected for the 8th edition of the Atlas Workshops, which runs from November 30 to December 4 as part of the Marrakech International Film Festival.

Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes for 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days, has been named as patron of the workshops.

The 2025 Atlas Workshops comprises 12 projects in development from nine countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Mozambique, Palestine, and Tanzania.

There are also 10 films in shooting or post-production from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Yemen.

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Five projects from Morocco will also feature in the Atlas Close-Ups section, and one Moroccan film nearing completion and seeking a festival premiere is in the Atlas Film Showcase section.

This year’s edition of the Atlas Workshops includes the documentary Childhood by Palestinian director Scandar Copti, who won the Étoile d’Or at Marrakech last year for Happy Holidays, following its world premiere in Venice’s Horizons sidebar. Childhood explores the lives of Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation, with a particular focus on the issue of child imprisonment.

Jordanian director Amjad Al Rasheed, whose Inshallah A Boy participated in the 2022 Atlas Workshops and was selected for Critics Week at Cannes in 2023, also presents his new project Under Her Eye, a social thriller about political and societal dynamics in Jordan.

Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir, who won the Étoile d’Or at Marrakech in 2023 for The Mother of All Lies following its world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, will attend with documentary Don’t Let The Sun Go Up On Me.

Burkinabe director Boubacar Sangaré, whose A Golden Life was a participant in the 2022 Atlas Workshops, comes with an adaptation of Augustin Sondé Coulibaly’s 1982 novel Les Dieux Délinquants.

A new programme for this year is the Atlas Distribution Meetings. This will bring together about 60 distribution professionals from Africa, the Arab world, and Europe in Marrakech. Over four days, participants will screen international films in the Festival, as well as Arab and African works in post-production selected for the Atlas Workshops.

Atlas Workshops 2025 line-up:

Projects In Development

Akal dir. Basma Rkioui (Mar) | 1st feature documentary
Chapa 100 dir. Ique Langa (Moz) | 2nd fiction feature
Chentian dir. Suha Arraf (Pse) | 2nd fiction feature
A Childhood dir. Scandar Copti (Pse) | 3rd feature documentary
Les Dieux Délinquants dir. Boubacar Sangaré (Bfa) | 1st fiction feature
Hold Me (If You Want) dir. Mounia Akl (Lbn) | 2nd fiction feature
Last Cow dir. Amil Shivji (Tza) | 2nd fiction feature
The Marches dir. Vatche Boulghourjian (Lbn) | 2nd fiction feature
Siméon Idriss dir. Zineb Wakrim (Mar) | 1st fiction feature
Under Green Skies dir. Jad Chahine (Egy) | 1st fiction feature
Under Her Eye dir. Amjad Al Rasheed (Jor) | 2nd fiction feature
Vanda dir. Kamy Lara (Ago) | 1st fiction feature

Films In Shooting Or Post-Production

Don’t Let The Sun Go Up On Me dir. Asmae El Moudir (Mar) | 2nd feature documentary
Goma Enough Is Enough (Goma Trop C’est Trop) dir. Elisé Sawasawa (Cod) | 1st feature documentary
Grey Glow (Lueur Grise) dir. Michèle Tyan (Lbn) | 1st fiction feature
La Más Dulce dir. Laïla Marrakchi (Mar) | 3rd fiction feature
Orient Adagio (Qitar Al-Sharq Al-Bati’) dir. Maha Haj (Pse) | 3rd fiction feature
Safe Exit dir. Mohammed Hammad (Egy) | 2nd fiction feature
The Station dir. Sara Ishaq (Yem) | 1st fiction feature
Trip To Jerusalem dir. Michel Zarazir & Gaby Zarazir (Lbn) | 1st fiction feature
Vagabonds dir. Amartei Armar (Gha) | 1st fiction feature
Wolves dir. Rami Kodeih (Lbn) | 1st fiction feature

Atlas Close-Ups

Earth And Ashes (Terre Et Cendres) dir. Leyna Tahiri (Mar) | 1st fiction feature
Into The Blue Night (Vers La Nuit Bleue) dir. Halima Elkhatabi (Mar) | 1st fiction feature
Remontada dir. Reda Lahmouid (Mar) | 1st fiction feature
The Tanjawi (Le Tangérois) dir. Zahoua Raji & Ayoub Layoussifi (Mar) | 1st fiction feature
Today, I Am 25 Years Old dir. Shaden Safieddine Tazi (Mar) | 1st fiction feature

Atlas Film Showcase

Until Dawn (Jusqu’à L’aube) dir. Mohamed Zineddaine (Mar) | fiction feature

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