The Marrakech International Film Festival invites leading voices in cinema to share their stories with the public.

Rabat – The Marrakech International Film Festival invites audiences to discover a more personal side of filmmaking through its “Conversations” program, highlighting stories not seen on screen, as well as pivotal encounters, intuitions, risks taken, doubts, and the passion that drives filmmakers to dedicate a lifetime to cinema.

These conversations, which have become one of the Festival’s most anticipated events over the years, offer a unique opportunity to connect with the people shaping cinema today, the organizers noted in a press release. They added that filmmakers and actors speak candidly, reflecting on the defining moments of their careers and sharing their approach to their craft, far removed from conventional rhetoric and promotional exercises.

The public will discover the personalities behind the works, their inspirations, their convictions, but also the chance encounters that shaped their destinies, the same source continues.

For this 23rd edition (November 20-28), the Festival will once again bring together leading figures of international cinema, artists who, each in their own way, have left their mark on the cinema of their time and continue to push its boundaries.

The “Conversations” series will notably feature Jeff Goldblum and John Turturro, two major figures of American cinema to whom the Festival will also pay tribute this year. With his humor, offbeat elegance, and inimitable art of composition, Jeff Goldblum will reflect on a career spanning nearly six decades, from “The Fly” to “Jurassic Park,” and up to the recent “Wicked.”

A favorite actor of the Coen brothers and a regular collaborator of Spike Lee, John Turturro will discuss the many facets of a career that has taken him from independent cinema to major Hollywood productions, while also developing his own body of work as a director.

A leading figure in international cinema, Monica Bellucci will look back on a career that has led her from “The Apartment” and “Malena” to “Irreversible,” while also participating in major productions such as “The Matrix” and “Spectre.” More recently seen in “Beetlejuice,” she will discuss a career that has spanned several countries and several projects. languages, through collaborations with filmmakers from very different backgrounds.

James Gray, whose films explore family ties, origins, and thwarted dreams with profound sensitivity, will share his perspective on cinema and on the America he has consistently portrayed, from “Little Odessa” to “Armageddon Time,” and now “Paper Tiger,” his latest film presented at this year’s Festival, according to the press release.

Another major voice in contemporary cinema is that of Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, who won his second Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival last May with “Fjord,” nineteen years after his first win for “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” the press release notes, adding that “the filmmaker will revisit a body of work deeply rooted in the social realities and moral dilemmas of our time.”

Moroccan director Laïla Marrakchi, whose “Marock” made its mark on Moroccan cinema by boldly addressing the aspirations and contradictions of youth, will share her An experience of creation attentive to family relationships, social conventions, and individual freedom. From “Marock” to “La más dulce,” presented this year at the Festival, and including her television work, she has developed a personal perspective on Moroccan society and its transformations.

Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, whose work boldly explores sensuality, desire, and transgression, will reflect on his career, which has taken him from “Call Me by Your Name” to “Challengers,” culminating in “Artificial,” his new film about the inner workings of artificial intelligence, which will be presented this year at the Festival.

Xavier Dolan, who rose to prominence at just nineteen with “I Killed My Mother,” and later won the Jury Prize at Cannes for “Mommy” and the Grand Prix for “It’s Only the End of the World,” will discuss his meteoric rise, driven by an intensely personal style of filmmaking where family relationships, emotions, and identities play a central role. central.

American director Rian Johnson, whose “Knives Out” and its sequel “Glass Onion” brilliantly reinvented the mystery film, will share his passion for storytelling, unpredictable characters, and cinematic puzzles, from “Brick” to “Looper,” by way of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

Gilles Lellouche, one of the most popular actors in French cinema, will also discuss