By Liza Foreman   Marrakech - We live in interesting times. And no where has that been more apparent than at this week's Marrakech International Film Festival where a star studded line up of international filmmakers gathered to talk film and politics.   Given the recent tragic events from Paris to California, there was much to talk about with Jury head Francis Ford Coppola reciting the Koran and Bill Murray talking about his love of Morocco and Muslim friends.   At the n...

  How would you teach filmmaking? Which films would you show?    Some of my favourites, starting with The Godfather. Practicing is where you learn from, though. Only by doing mistakes you learn how to do better.      How has your life impacted your filmmaking?    I had a very bad childhood and my father was not a very nice man. (laughing) I lived in my fantasies, creating stories and creating theatre plays for my friends. At school I used to go a...

    Viggo Mortensen, to whom the 14th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival pays a tribute, presented his new film Loin des hommes (Far from men) in the presence of the director David Oelhoffen, co-star Reda Kateb and the producers, yesterday evening at the crowded Jemaa El Fna square in the old town of Marrakech. When called on stage, Mortensen greeted the audience with well rehearsed Arabic and continued in French inviting them to the following free screening of th...

The 14th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival (5 - 13 December 2014) just unveiled its line-up and juries, surpassing even last year’s galore of big names in the industry that attended the Moroccan Film Festival.      After making known that this year’s tributes will honour Japanese Cinema, Egyptian actor Adel Imam, British actor Jeremy Irons and the American actor Viggo Mortensen.    The festival stated: “For this year’s ed...