Artists and film-goers will again meet for The National Moroccan Film Festival, the sixth festival since its inception in 1982 in Rabat. If this event has always been a good opportunity for making a balance-sheet of Morocco’s film production through various stages of evolution, and for appraising future prospects, the Festival this time is particularly marked by an a real development of Morocco’s film production and cinema industry.

    We have to underline in this connection that the pace of organised film festivals has increased during the past years, since this festival is held only two years after the1998 festival in Casablanca. Far from being the result of a mere chance, this fact is unquestionably the result of a profusion observed in our national film production, accelerating thus the pace.

    Moreover, the fact that western film companies are more eager to select our country for film shooting has led to the development of various sectors of the film industry in Morocco, particularly concerning shooting structures such as the setting of studios and other professions related to film directing. This has been conducive to a high activity that national companies could led in producing national films with their own means of production. This new trend stimulated the effort made by the Government in this field, particularly through the Help Fund.
    As a matter of fact, the strong presence of Morocco’s film making has become an essential claim in the defence of our national identity in an environment increasingly marked by globalization and openness of local markets with all what implies as wild competition in all fields, in particular in the image and film making.
    From this point of view, the holding of the Sixth National Film Festival, is a renewed opportunity to celebrate our national cinema and reflect on its achievement up to now and also on what we are called for as creators, producers, distributors and movie-theatre managers, so that the Moroccan cinema may benefit from a high coverage and circulation amongst our public and amongst film-goers in the Arab world and beyond.