The Tamazight film has participated in six film festivals as an official selection and won two awards.
Rabat – The fifth South African International Film Festival has welcomed the Moroccan film “Monsters,” directed by Moroccan filmmaker and screenwriter, Mohamed Fauzi, also known as Aksel Rifman.
The Moroccan film participates in many categories at the “RapidLion” festival in Johannesburg, which began March 6 and will wrap up March 15.
Abdelouahid Zaouki is up for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Alae El Bachiri has been nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Jalila Talemsi is gunning for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
Rifman’s Tamazight (Berber) film is also up for Best Screenplay Award.
“Monsters” is an 80-minute psychological thriller that tells the story of a mob kidnapping a rich family in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains for the sake of money, highlighting the clash of human beings in situations of pressure, and the result of the confrontation.
“What started as a simple theft ended up being a Matroschka of secrets,” reads the movie synopsis on its official website. “No one is safe nor innocent in the house.”
This year’s festival knows the participation of leading countries in the field of cinema, including India and the US, as well as Belgium, China, Russia, and Nigeria.
The festival will pay tribute to African cinema, which will also be in the spotlight at the 16th Pan-African Film Festival (FIFP) in Cannes, France from April 17 to 21.
FIFP is set to welcome two Moroccan films, including “Monsters” in the category of Best Feature Film, and “Le chant du cygne” by Moroccan filmmaker Yazid El Kadiri, in the Best Short Film category.
FIFP aims to discover new African talents in the domain of cinema.
“Monsters” has won several awards in Morocco and abroad including the title of Best Amazigh Movie of the Year in 2019 by the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture.
Rifman’s film also won the Best Feature Film in the European Cinematography Awards in January 2020.
Read also: Moroccan Wins Best Actor at Cesar Awards 2020
