Tetouan Film Festival: 10 films from 8 countries in its 31st edition

From October 3 to 10, 2026, the city of Tetouan will host the 31st edition of the Tetouan Mediterranean Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film events in Morocco since its establishment in 1985 at the initiative of the Friends of Cinema Association in Tetouan. This year, ten feature films from Morocco, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Tunisia, France and Palestine are competing in the official competition, in which the stories of exile, memory, childhood, displacement and the relationship of the individual to his society intersect. The jury and honors committee chairs a committee The official arbitration includes Spanish actress Monica Lopez, and includes French producer Virginie Mateo, Italian director Rosella English, Moroccan director Abdelhay al-Iraqi, and Cypriot director Michael Habichis. This year, the festival honors six prominent figures from both shores of the Mediterranean, including the Syrian actress Slava Mimar, one of the most prominent faces in Syrian drama, cinema and theater, in recognition of her artistic path between cinema, theater and television. Free offers and parallel programs along with the competition Officially, the festival proposes six films under the "Favorite Selection" section that highlight distinct cinematic experiences, in addition to free outdoor screenings in an acre square that highlight the classics of Moroccan cinema, including "The Mirage" by Ahmed Bouanani, "The Gate of Heaven" by Farida Belaizid, and"Number One" by Zakia Taheri. The program also includes a special animation film segment for children, in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, as part of the festival's endeavor to expand its audience beyond traditional halls. "Inmates" inside the civil prison The festival also continues its social program known as "Inmates", which organizes workshops for artistic expression and film shows for the benefit of inmates in the civil prison in Tetouan, within the framework of a participatory approach that brings cinema closer to groups rarely reached by major cultural events. These initiatives, along with the geographical diversity of the competing films and the multinationality of the jury, reflect the role that the festival has played for more than four decades as a platform for cultural dialogue between the two shores of the Mediterranean. As it enters its thirty-first session, Tetouan's location is firmly established within the map of Moroccan film festivals, which are receiving increasing attention from filmmakers and production institutions in the Mediterranean region, supporting the Moroccan film industry and opening new windows for artistic cooperation and joint production.