For the first time... Moroccan Asmaa Al-Dair wins the gold star at the International Film Festival in Marrakesh

art News The Moroccan film "White Lies", directed by Moroccan director Asma El-Moudir, was crowned with the Gold Star (Grand Prize) of the twentieth session of the Marrakesh International Film Festival, which concluded its event yesterday, Saturday, in the Red City of Marrakesh.

Asma El-Moudir is the first Moroccan woman to win the Golden Star at the Marrakesh International Film Festival

Moroccan director Asmaa Al-Moadir said that she did not expect her documentary film “White Lies” to win the Golden Star Award at the 20th edition of the Marrakesh International Film Festival.

In a statement to the " sbisiali " website, Asmaa expressed her happiness with this coronation, and dedicated this grand award to His Majesty King Mohammed VI , as she expressed her sincere thanks and gratitude to His Majesty the King. In a speech during the closing ceremony of the twentieth session of the festival, Asmaa, the director, expressed her sincere thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, “the father of all Moroccans,” saying to His Majesty, “You created a football academy for us, so your children reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, and you also created for us the festival institution.” The International Film Festival in Marrakesh, then the Atlas Atlas Workshops, and here we are today, the sons of the Atlas Workshops, roaring in Marrakesh and winning our first star. We dedicate it to you, His Majesty the King.”

Asmaa Al-Dair expressed her thanks to the members of the organizing committee of the International Film Festival in Marrakesh, including Melita Toscan de Blountier, advisor to the president of the foundation, Rene Bonhomme, the artistic director of the festival, and Ali Hajji, the general coordinator of the festival, stressing that “we are graduates of this institution (the International Film Festival Foundation In Marrakesh, today we made this star that will be dedicated to all Moroccans who have been waiting for it so much.”

The film “White Lies” combines the personal story of director Asmaa Al-Moadir with a national story experienced by Moroccans

In this film, the director Asmaa touched on the events of the Years of Lead, which began in 1981 in Casablanca and witnessed the largest uprising against the high cost of living that claimed the lives of Moroccans who went out to struggle to improve their social conditions, only to find themselves lifeless bodies on the ground, shot by bullets, or inside detention centers whose death was postponed. Choking due to overcrowding. The director chose to return to the past with testimonies told by figures who lived through the dark event in Moroccan history, including her grandmother, who had a leadership and authoritarian personality that reflected the concept of authority at that time in the Kingdom of Morocco.

Throughout the 93 minutes of her documentary, Asmaa Al-Moadir dives into the worlds of her childhood and her memories of her parents’ home, where she tells about her trip back to her home in the city of Casablanca to help her parents move to another house, to find a picture of children smiling in a schoolyard, and from here Asmaa sets out to reveal her family’s secrets. . It is worth noting that the film “White Lies” previously won the Best Direction award in the “Un Certain Regard” section during the awards ceremony of the 76th Cannes International Film Festival for the year 2023, and its director, Asmaa Al-Mudarir, also succeeded in winning the Best Director award out of 17 films. He participates in the “Un Certain Regard” section, which is a competition dedicated to innovative and emerging films and promising directors, after which he participates in several European and Arab festivals.