Agadir Amazigh Film Festival: 30 films from 14 countries

On Thursday, the first of October, in the city of Agadir, the activities of the seventeenth edition of the Esni-Wergh International Amazigh Film Festival began, which is scheduled to continue until October 5 at the Desert Cinema Hall, with the participation of 30 films from 14 countries under the slogan "Agadir, the capital of Amazigh culture." The festival is organized in partnership between the Souss-Massa region, the Collective Council of Agadir and the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture, with free access to all performances within the capacity of the hall. Three competitions and a program Outside the competition, the films of this course were distributed into three main competitions in addition to a parallel program. The Amazigh competition includes 10 films from Morocco, Algeria, France, Italy, the United States and New Caledonia, dealing with issues of identity, belonging, memory and lifestyle shifts within Amazigh communities. The international competition also features 10 films discussing humanitarian issues in various contexts around the world, while the Royal Institute of Amazigh National Culture Award is dedicated to six Moroccan films, along with Five short films screened out of competition on October 4. Honoring Mohamed Salout and Helen Hagan The opening ceremony of the festival witnessed the evening of October 1 honoring the artist Mohamed Salout with the solidarity award granted by the festival, while the closing ceremony on October 5 will be dedicated to honoring the American researcher Helen E. Hagan, founder of the Los Angeles Amazigh Film Festival, in recognition of her path in introducing Amazigh culture outside Morocco. The festival management also organizes a special show under the name "Esni of" on October 2 at the Tausna Center Maimonides. A stop in a busy Moroccan film season. The Esseni-Wergh festival comes at a time when Morocco is witnessing a season full of film festivals, similar to the Tetouan Film Festival, which recently concluded its thirty-first session with the participation of 10 films from 8 countries. The Agadir Festival is of particular importance as one of the most prominent cultural events celebrating the Amazigh language and arts in Morocco, in the context of the growing interest in the demarcation of Amazigh within the official cultural policies of the country since its study as an official language to Arabic side.