Marrakech festival spotlights tensions animating Morocco’s movie industry
Associated Press
MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — Each year, celebrities descend on Morocco to attend the Marrakech International Film Festival, enjoy warm weather, luxurious resorts and laud the power of cinema. This year’s event wrapped up on Saturday and featured stars such as actor Sean Penn and director Luca Guadagnino. But the image that the monarchy-backed festival projects about freedoms in Morocco’s film industry often clashes with censorship and economic realities facing filmmakers. Such tensions have become paramount for the global film industry as new festivals crop up in countries like Saudi Arabia and China, the world’s second largest entertainment industry.
