The 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is scheduled for July 6 to 17, 2021. The feature film “High and Strong” by Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch, has been selected in the official selection, and may compete for the Palme d’Or.
According to Thierry Frémaux, general delegate of the Cannes festival, “Haut et fort” appears alongside 23 other productions, including four produced by women, which will be in the running for the Palme d’Or of the prestigious festival.
The feature film, produced by the company “Ali n ‘Productions” in 2020 and having benefited from the support fund for the production of cinematographic works, tells the story of a former rapper hired in a cultural center in a popular district of Casablanca. Encouraged by their new teacher, the young people will try to free themselves from the weight of certain traditions to live their passion and express themselves through hip hop culture.
Italian directors Nanni Moretti with Tre Piani, American Sean Penn with Flag Day, Russian Kirill Serebrennikov with Petrov’s flu and French Jacques Audiard for Les Olympiades, will be competing at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
Also in the selection will be the film Annette by Frenchman Leos Carax, The French Dispatch by American Wes Anderson and even Benedetta by Dutchman Paul Verhoeven.
The closing film will be a “surprise”, said Thierry Frémaux.
American director, actress and producer, Jodie Foster, will receive the Festival’s Palme d’Or of Honor, and will be the guest of honor at the opening ceremony on July 6.
For the Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM), “this selection is a first in the history of Moroccan cinema at the level of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, whose 74th edition of 2021 stands out as the most anticipated cinema event this year after. the global health crisis ”.
Moroccan cinema has already participated in parallel sections of the Cannes Film Festival such as “The week of criticism”, “Un certain regard” or “The fifteen of directors”, recalls the CCM, adding that “this presence in the official competition of 2021 testifies to the growing international notoriety of Moroccan cinema and offers a chance to win a prize in the official section ”.
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