As the short film festival began in Morocco, some expressed scepticism over the timing of the event.
Young Moroccan movie-makers are vying for prizes this week in Rabat at the first National Short Film Festival. Two dozen films are under consideration for the awards, which will be announced on Saturday (October 23rd).
"One of the goals of the festival is to encourage young Moroccan professionals who will work in the cinema in the future," said Abdul Kareem Bennani, head of the Rabat al-Fath Association for Sustainable Development, which organised the event."We have to appreciate and encourage the efforts of innovative young people whose number started to considerably increase."
For his part, Mohammed Bakrim, spokesman of the Moroccan Film Centre, described the four-day event as "very positive, given that the chance to watch short films by the audiences is not widely available". He added that festivals represent the only available venue for watching such films.
Some, however, are dubious about the timing of the festival.
"The launch of the festival has certainly come late, given that there are other types of festivals for this genre of films," Soulaf Saidi, a participant director, told Magharebia.
But for association member Saad Bennani, it's never too late to hold such an event. "There are a large number of festivals in Morocco, but ours has a distinct feature, i.e. the participation of audiences in selecting winners," he said, adding that "the festival is being held at a time when Morocco is witnessing a significant revival in cinema in general and in the production of short films in particular".
"For example, it was not possible to organise a big number of short film festivals 10 years ago. As to now, we can do that in view of the increasing number of short films that are produced every year," said Bakrim.
"I don't think it came late," another participant director Houssam Azman concurred. "There are a certain number of festivals for this genre of films. However, the new festival is like a new door for Moroccan cinema so that young people may show their talent. It is also an opportunity to meet and share experiences."
Cinema critic Ahmed Boughaba stressed the importance of holding annual short film festivals to keep the industry booming. "I think that the festival came at a suitable time after certain requirements became available, including the increasing number of short films in recent years," he told Magharebia.
By Naoufel Cherkaoui
© Magharebia.com 2010
