Sale Film Festival Keeps Women’s Cinema at the Centre

The 19th Sale Film Festival has continued its long-running focus on women’s contribution to cinema, bringing together film screenings, filmmakers and audiences for a week of programming in Sale.

The festival opened on September 28, although the year was not specified in the source report. Its programme examined women’s opportunities in the film industry, including access to financing and the roles available to them.

The event’s focus dates back 22 years, when it first highlighted the roles played by Moroccan women in cinema. The tradition has continued almost every year since, according to the report.

Women’s representation in focus

Moroccan actress Bouchra Ahrich said the festival supported women’s causes through both its film programme and the women attending the event.

“Sale city’s festival champions women’s causes through the films screened and also through the names of the women present,” Ahrich said.

Baro Orokiatou, a screenwriter and filmmaker, said the festival gave filmmakers an opportunity to explore films about women and to discover what she described as “the artistic side of women.” She also viewed the event as a place to identify new films for future African festivals, including the Panafricain Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou.

The fiction competition featured nine feature films. Several filmmakers were presented with trophies in recognition of their work, although the names of the other recipients were not provided.

Tazi receives festival recognition

Mohammed Abderrahman Tazi became the first male director to receive an award from the Sale festival. His career in cinema spans more than six decades, and his work has received recognition locally and internationally, according to the report.

After receiving the award, Tazi said filmmakers had a responsibility to portray the lives of women in Morocco.

“Since women make up half of society, filmmakers must show the situation of women in Morocco,” he said.

He also welcomed dialogue between male and female filmmakers, saying: “I am also happy to see that there is a dialogue between male and female filmmakers, rather than having every side staying in their own world.”

Arabic subtitles introduced

Films screened during the festival carried Arabic subtitles for the first time in its history, marking a new feature in the event’s presentation of its programme.

Outside the screenings, audience members gathered along the red carpet to watch stars arrive. Some posed for photographs, while others took selfies with fans.

The festival combined its established attention to women’s roles in cinema with recognition for filmmakers, a competitive fiction programme and a new use of Arabic subtitles during its latest edition.