Brittany Ballard
On the heels of an incredible Imperial Valley program currently under way, FILM FORWARD journeys to the Kingdom of Morocco for the second year with our strong repeat Program Collaborator, the U.S. Embassy in Morocco. We will travel throughout the country to 6 diverse cities from May 7 to 12 with FILM FORWARD filmmakers Mike Cahill (Another Earth) and Linda Goldstein Knowlton (Somewhere Between).
Tonight there was a special advanced screening in of the acclaimed documentary film Buck, at the International Festival of Wildlife and Environmental Film (FIFALE). Andrea Meditch, who traveled to China with Buck last month, filmed an audience address in which she discussed her surprise and intrigue in the strong Chinese audience reaction to the film – particularly the connection between how we treat our environment and how we treat ourselves. True cultural exchange across films and country lines!
The Morocco program will officially kick off on May 7 with a special screening of Somewhere Between at the Agdal Cultural Center in Rabat hosted by U.S. Ambassador Samuel L. Kaplan. Workshops and special screenings with director Q&As will take place in multiple venues in Rabat, Oujda/Berkane, Khouribga, Beni Mellal and Fez before ending in Casablanca on May 12 with a screening of Another Earth at the International Festival of Student Film (FIFE).
We are thrilled to be joined for a second year by celebrated Moroccan filmmakers Rabii El Jawhari and Hamid Basket, who will serve as moderators and cultural advisors for our program.
In the spirit of cross-cultural dialogue, Linda and Mike are equipped with a number of questions they have for the audiences and they’re both excited to participate in round table discussions with film students and filmmakers throughout Morocco, discussing both narrative and documentary filmmaking techniques and sharing their personal stories and experiences in indie filmmaking.
We are thankful to our many local cultural and governmental organizational partners for making this program possible, including: Agdal Cultural Center, American Language Center/Arabic Language Institute of Fez, Arts et Métiers Association, Hassan II High School, Oujda American Corner, Oum El Koura Language School, Mohamed I University, Ribat Al Fath Association, School of Cinema Professions of Casablanca (EMCC), Sultan Moulay Slimane University and Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University.
Stay tuned for updates as we journey through the Kingdom of Morocco! http://www.sundance.org/filmforward/destination/morocco-2012/
