Cannes Palme d’Or winning Romanian director Cristian Mungiu has been named as the 2025 patron of the Marrakech International Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops, following in the footsteps of Jeff Nichols last year.
Regarded as a major figure in contemporary European auteur cinema, Mungiu won the Palme d’Or in 2007 for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, with other award-winning films including Beyond the Hills, Graduation, and R.M.N..
Created in 2018, the Atlas Workshops are the heart of the Atlas Programs, Marrakech’s recently created banner gathering all the professional initiatives supported by the festival foundation.
As the patron of the workshops, Mungiu will mentor the 28 projects in this year’s selection, with their directors known as the “Class of Cristian Mungiu”.
“I am very happy to get back to Marrakech, a vibrant festival that uses the power of cinema to promote and unite people from different corners of the world,” said Mungiu.
“I gladly accept the position of Patron of the Atlas Workshops for 2025, hoping that from this encounter, both the filmmakers I am going to meet and I myself will have a lot to learn. I believe cinema is a great tool for investigating reality and getting to know the Other despite all stereotypes, and that we should use it as a tool to help us focus on what unites us rather than on differences of opinions we might have,” said Mungiu.
This year’s edition of the Atlas Workshops will present 28 projects, spanning 12 projects in development, 10 films of which are shooting or in post-production; five first Moroccan fiction features in development in the Atlas Close-Ups sidebar and one Moroccan feature nearing completion and seeking a festival premiere in the Atlas Film Showcase section.
The 2025 Selection
Watch on Deadline
Projects in development
AKAL – Basma Rkioui (Morocco) | 1st feature documentary
CHAPA 100 – Ique Langa (Mozambique) | 2nd fiction feature
CHENTIAN – Suha Arraf (Palestine) | 2nd fiction feature
A CHILDHOOD – Scandar Copti (Palestine) | 3rd feature documentary
LES DIEUX DÉLINQUANTS – Boubacar Sangaré (Burkina Faso) | 1st fiction feature
HOLD ME (IF YOU WANT) – Mounia Akl (Lebanon) | 2nd fiction feature
LAST COW – Amil Shivji (Tanzania) | 2nd fiction feature
THE MARCHES – Vatche Boulghourjian (Lebanon) | 2nd fiction feature
SIMÉON IDRISS – Zineb Wakrim (Morocco) | 1st fiction feature
UNDER GREEN SKIES – Jad Chahine (Egypt) | 1st fiction feature
UNDER HER EYE – Amjad Al Rasheed (Jordan) | 2nd fiction feature
VANDA – Kamy Lara (Angola) | 1st fiction feature
Films Shooting or In Development
DON’T LET THE SUN GO UP ON ME – Asmae El Moudir (Morocco) | 2nd feature documentary
GOMA ENOUGH IS ENOUGH (GOMA TROP C’EST TROP) – Elisé Sawasawa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) | 1st feature documentary
GREY GLOW (LUEUR GRISE)– Michèle Tyan (Lebanon) | 1st fiction feature
LA MÁS DULCE – Laïla Marrakchi (Morocco) | 3rd fiction feature
ORIENT ADAGIO (QITAR AL-SHARQ AL-BATI’) – Maha Haj (Palestine) | 3rd fiction feature
SAFE EXIT – Mohammed Hammad (Egypt) | 2nd fiction feature
THE STATION – Sara Ishaq (Yemen) | 1st fiction feature
TRIP TO JERUSALEM – Michel Zarazir and Gaby Zarazir (Lebanon) | 1st fiction feature
VAGABONDS – Amartei Armar (Ghana) | 1st fiction feature
WOLVES – Rami Kodeih (Lebanon) | 1st fiction feature
Atlas Film Showcase
EARTH AND ASHES (TERRE ET CENDRES)– Leyna Tahiri (Morocco) | 1st fiction feature
INTO THE BLUE NIGHT (VERS LA NUIT BLEUE) – Halima Elkhatabi (Morocco) | 1st fiction feature
REMONTADA – Reda Lahmouid (Morocco) | 1st fiction feature
THE TANJAWI (LE TANGÉROIS) – Zahoua Raji & Ayoub Layoussifi (Morocco) | 1st fiction feature
TODAY, I AM 25 YEARS OLD – Shaden Safieddine Tazi (Morocco) | 1st fiction feature
Atlas Film Showcase
UNTIL DAWN (JUSQU’À L’AUBE)– Mohamed Zineddaine (Morocco) | fiction feature