Marrakech announces official selection

At Eternity's Gate Photo: Courtesy of New York Film Festival

The Marrakech International Film Festival - which will run from November 30 to December 8 - has announced its official selection, featuring 80 films from 29 countries.

Fourteen films will join the strong competition line-up, including Locarno Best First Feature and FIPRESCI prize winner All Good, Tribeca Narrative Feature winner Diane and San Sebastian Silver Shell winner Benjamín Naishtat's Rojo. Also included are London Film Festival Best Film winner Joy and Lila Avilés' The Chambermaid. Six of the selection are directed by women.

The official selection jury president will be director James Gray. He will be joined by Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, actors Daniel Bruhl, Dakota Johnson and Ileana D'Cruz, Moroccan director Tala Hadid, French helmer Laurent Cantet, visual artist Joana Hadjithomas and Mexican director Michel Franco.

The festival has also announced it will pay tribute to Moroccan filmmaker Jillali Ferhati, whose films include Bamboo Brides and Pillow Secrets.

Jillali Ferhati

The festival said: "Jillali Ferhati has not only made films, but has also contributed to the establishment of a national cinema with a truly genuine Moroccan identity, whose roots stretch deep into the African soil, and whose branches extend high and wide, reaching out towards several horizons."

The festival will also host a number of gala screenings, including Alfonso Cuarón's Roma and Peter Farrelly's Green Book. The festival will open with a gala screening of Julian Schnabel's At Eternity’s Gate.

Other sections of the festival include Special Screenings and 11th Continent, which is dedicated to "the intellectually curious and experiment-oriented public".

There is also a Moroccan Panorama section, showcasing seven films from the country., plus a section devoted to young audiences.