The International Cinema and Migration Festival, with the Ivory Coast as guest Honor for its 13th edition has been lauched yesterday 14 october 2016 under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, with the partnership of the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) and the association "Cultural Initiative. The festival will close it’s doors on 19 november.
Mr. Abdellah Boussouf, Secretary General of the CCME, congratutated "the organizers for the 13th birthday of the cultural event, because it confirms its accomplishment » adding that this international festival of migration, is this year in harmony with the organization of the COP22 in Morocco : an event which His Majesty the King wanted to transform in an area to fight for Africa and the defenseless countries ".
« Art has the capacity to express the causes of humanity » said M.Boussouf pursuing that "the film industry’s duty is also to shield the migration » which has always been a supplemental value and an essential component of all countries. In Moroco’s case migration is described by the Constitution as a component of the Moroccan personality ".
The Secretary general of the Council Mr Boussouf insisted "on the role of the African cinema in confronting extreme right-wing and racist movements that have made immigration a scapegoat for all their social problems and for the rehabilitation of the migrant by invalidating the stereotypes in Western films. This, in the name of humanism and solidarity between countries and for the respect of the difference. » He added that" African cinema should through its own way apprehend the world, focus on a human content and on the values of tolerance of and of living together ".
Mr Boussouf also reccaled "the speech of His Majesty the King, who affirmed that Africa is the future of Morocco and Morocco is the future of Africa ». He reassured that "cinema has the capacity of reducing geographical and cultural distances and bringing African peoples closer together". He thanked the Ivory Coast, the honored guest of the festival as "the country that has always been the gateway to Western Africa, from which the Green March was launched and by Which we will initiate cultural cooperation with Africa ".
Several countries are represented in the International Festival of Cinema and Migration among them Palestine, Tunisia, Algeria, Belgium, Spain, Great Britain, France and the Netherlands.
A short film competition is also planned, with Belgian-Moroccan director Nabil Ben Yadir as president of the jury.
The festival has pogramed academic debates on the issue of migration. In partnership with the CCME and Ibn Zohr University, two conferences will be organized on this issue.
CCME