Actresses Anya Taylor-Joy and Jenna Ortega have joined the jury of the Marrakech Intl. Film Festival, which takes place from Nov. 28 to Dec. 6.
Also on the jury are filmmakers Celine Song, Julia Ducournau, Karim Aïnouz and Hakim Belabbes, as well as actor-director Payman Maadi. “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho is the jury president, as previously announced.
The jury is tasked with judging the 14 first and second feature films presented in an official competition dedicated to discovering new international talent.
British-American actress Taylor-Joy rose to fame in “The Queen’s Gambit” and further established herself in “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “Dune: Part Two”; U.S. actor Ortega is the star of the series “Wednesday” and the film “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” by Tim Burton; and Canadian Song is the director of the Oscar nominated “Past Lives.”
French director Ducournau won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for “Titane,” while her third feature, “Alpha,” premiered in the Competition at Cannes this year; and Brazilian director Aïnouz won the Un Certain Regard Award at Cannes for “The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão,” while his most recent features, “Firebrand” and “Motel Destino” both competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Moroccan filmmaker Belabbes is a key figure in intimate, memory-based cinema, with films such as “Threads,” “In Pieces” and “Boiling Dreams”; and Iranian actor, director Maadi rose to international fame in Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation,” the Golden Bear winner at Berlinale and Oscar winner for best foreign language film, which earned him the Silver Bear for best actor.
The award winners will be announced at the closing ceremony on Dec. 6.
