Founded in 1997, the Écrans Noirs Film Festival aims to be an essential platform for promoting African cinema. This year’s edition pays tribute to the Senegalese filmmaker Sembène Ousmane, whose country is the guest of honor.
During the opening ceremony of this edition, Bassek Ba Kobhio, an icon of Cameroonian cinema and the founder of the festival, invited the audience to observe a minute of silence in honor of the victims of the earthquake that struck several regions of Morocco on September 8.
He also expressed his deep gratitude to Morocco for its constant support to Africa and African cinema, particularly highlighting the valuable contribution of the Kingdom to the Écrans Noirs Film Festival.
The inauguration ceremony featured the presentation of the Honorary Screen Award to the Burkinabè filmmaker Alimata Salambéré in recognition of her exceptional contributions to the world of cinema.
This year, around thirty films are in competition, including Moroccan Maryam Touzani’s Le Bleu de Caftan in the feature films category.
Morocco is also represented in this edition by Fatine Khalkhal’s L’Faro in the documentary feature films category and Blal Touil’s Célébration in the short films competition.
The Écrans Noirs Festival also serves as a space for reflection on cinema through the organization of symposia and conferences that bring together industry professionals to discuss topics related to the development of film production in Africa.
The national carrier, Royal Air Maroc (RAM), is the official transport provider for the Écrans Noirs festival for the period 2022-2024. The support it has provided to this cultural event since 2014 reflects its strong commitment to African cinema.
In a gala dinner held on the sidelines of the festival, Noura Daoudi, RAM General Delegate in Africa, emphasized RAM’s commitment to promoting African culture and the arts, noting that the partnership with the Écrans Noirs Festival Association perfectly embodies the company’s values, as well as its involvement in many other major events across the African continent.
“The partnership of Royal Air Maroc with the Écrans Noirs Association perfectly embodies our commitment to promoting African culture and art,” she said, expressing her pride “in being part of events that advocate values of tolerance, peace, and openness, which are essential for the growth and unity of the African continent.”
She also added that Royal Air Maroc supports many other major cultural and artistic events throughout Africa that promote similar values of unity, diversity, and artistic excellence.
These include the renowned African Film Festival “FESPACO” in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), the Dakar Biennale in Senegal, the Bamako Biennial of Photography (Mali), and the Arts and Entertainment Market in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire).
