The Atlas Workshops, Marrakech Film Festival’s project development platform, has named Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho as the patron of its 9th edition and unveiled the 30 projects invited to participate.

The award-winning The Secret Agent filmmaker follows in the footsteps of Cristian Mungiu and Jeff Nichols, in a role which will see him mentor the filmmakers in attendance.

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Mendonça Filho was at Marrakech last year while on the awards trail with The Secret Agent, which won best director in Cannes and then went on to clinch two Golden Globes and four Oscar nominations.

“Last year, during my Conversation at the festival, I was asked whether I had ever planned to shoot a film in this city. Serving as the patron of the Atlas Workshops makes me feel as though I’m witnessing, right before my eyes, the birth of new films,” said the director, whose credits also include Aquarius (2016), and Bacurau on the Map (2019).

“I am delighted to receive this invitation. Listening to new ideas and understanding the aspirations of new generations of filmmakers is a source of inspiration for my own work.”

Selected from 410 submitted projects, the workshops will present 30 projects hailing from 14 countries, spanning Algeria, Cabo Verde, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, and Tunisia.

The lineup is split between 14 projects in development, 11 films in production or post-production, and five projects in the Atlas Close-Ups section, which is dedicated to Moroccan cinema. (scroll down for full list)

The projects in development include new projects from a host of directors who have already made their mark, including Amjad Abu Alala (You Will Die at Twenty), Laila Abbas (Thank You for Banking with Us), Meryem Benm’Barek (Sofia; Behind the Palm Trees), Sofia Alaoui (Animalia), and Yasmine Benkiran (Queens).

“We have a strong presence of strong female Moroccan directors,” said Atlas Workshops head Hédi Zardi, referring to Benm’Barek, Alaoui and Benkiran.

There are also first features by buzzy newcomers including Sarra Ryma, whose short film What Do The Maknines Dream Of played in Cannes Critics’ Week this year, while Zardi also noted the presence of French Senegalese filmmaker Dyana Gaye, with her first film in a decade, a Dakar-set musical entitled Studio Kébé.

“The aim is to have a good mix of discoveries and features by more established directors,” said Zardi.

Four of the 11 projects in the production or post-production selection previously participated in the Atlas Workshops at the development stage: Samuel Ishimwe’s Seasons of the Weary Kind (Rwanda), Alaa Eddine Aljem’s Eldorado (Morocco), Yoro Mbaye’s Fagadaga (Senegal), and Ismaël El Iraki’s Wolfmother (Morocco).

“It shows a continuity in our work,” commented Zardi, noting the presence of emerging talents such as Lebanese director Jessy Moussallem, who will attend with Faux Bijoux, an extension of her award-winning short of the same name.

“She has just started shooting and will show us the first images straight from the shoot at Atlas,” said Hardi.

Commenting on the Atlas Close-Ups lineup focused purely on Moroccan films, Hardi highlighted to the diversity of the selection, ranging from hybrid documentary Amar Made His Dream Come True, to audience-driven B512, The Man Who Forgot To Die and poetic drama The Cemetery’s Birds.

Atlas Station, supporting emerging Moroccan producers and directors, will support eight local producers and showcase five short film projects.

Founded in 2018, the Atlas Workshops is enjoying a vintage year on the festival front thanks to past participants such as Congo Boy and Strawberries, which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard; Furies, which played in Venice; Bardi, which debuted in New York; and Ego Reach We All, which screened in Locarno.

Atlas Workshops is one prong of Marrakech’s Atlas Programs banner, which gathers the professional initiatives of the Marrakech International Film Festival.

Alongside the Atlas Workshops and Atlas Station, Atlas Press supports the development of film criticism, while the Atlas Distribution Meetings bring together some 60 professionals from Africa, the Arab world, and Europe to foster networking and the circulation of films. The Atlas Distribution Awards round out this initiative by providing support for the distribution of films.

The Atlas Workshops, Atlas Station, and Atlas Distribution Meetings take place in Marrakech from November 22 to 26, while Atlas Press takes place from November 23 to 27, 2026.

Prior to the physical meeting in Marrakech, the Atlas Workshops will hold online sessions from November 2 to 6 to get the participants up to date with the latest industry developments and trends for independent film.

Projects in development

ALGIERS HAZE – Sarra RYMA (Algeria) | 1st feature – fiction

AMERICA IS BEHIND THE DOOR – Laila ABBAS (Palestine) | 2nd feature – fiction

ASHES – Meryem BENM’BAREK (Morocco) | 3rd feature – fiction

A BEAUTIFUL LAND TO DIE – Amjad ABU ALALA (Sudan) | 2nd feature – fiction

CHRONICLES OF AN UNANNOUNCED DEATH – Dyaa NAIM (Syria) | 1st feature – fiction

EKO GONGON – Carlos Yuri CEUNINCK (Cabo Verde) | 2nd feature – documentary

THE HIGHWAY – Farah KASSEM (Lebanon) | 2nd feature – fiction

A LOVER’S MANIFESTO – Alfred TARAZI (Lebanon) | 1st feature – documentary

SAFARA – Awa Moctar GUEYE (Senegal) | 1st feature – fiction

THE SLEEPERS – Sofia ALAOUI (Morocco) | 2nd feature – fiction

SONGS FROM THE CITY OF THE DEAD – Abdelwahab SHAWKY (Egypt) | 1st feature – fiction

STUDIO KÉBÉ – Dyana GAYE (Senegal) | 2nd feature – fiction

WALTZ OF THE SAVAGES – Yasmine BENKIRAN (Morocco) | 2nd feature – fiction

THE ZEBRA’S SHADOW – Gaël KAMILINDI (Rwanda) | 1st feature – fiction

Films in production or post-production

1986 – Mouayed ZABTIA (Libya) | 1st feature – fiction

BIRTHDAY – Lara ZEIDAN (Lebanon) | 1st feature – fiction

ELDORADO – Alaa Eddine ALJEM (Morocco) | 2nd feature – fiction

FAGADAGA – Yoro MBAYE (Senegal) | 1st feature – fiction

FAUX BIJOUX – Jessy MOUSSALLEM (Lebanon) | 1st feature – fiction

HAMLET FROM THE SLUMS – Ahmed FAWZI-SALEH (Egypt) | 2nd feature – fiction

MEHAL SEFARI – Abraham GEZAHAGNE (Ethiopia) | 3rd feature – fiction

MY FATHER KILLED BOURGUIBA – Fatma RIAHI (Tunisia) | 2nd feature – documentary

OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS – Bassel GHANDOUR (Jordan) | 2nd feature – fiction

SEASONS OF THE WEARY KIND – Samuel ISHIMWE (Rwanda) | 1st feature – fiction

WOLFMOTHER – Ismaël EL IRAKI (Morocco) | 2nd feature – fiction

Atlas Closeup

AMAR MADE HIS DREAM COME TRUE – Samira EL MOUZGHIBATI (Morocco) | 2nd feature – documentary

B512, THE MAN WHO FORGOT TO DIE – Jihane EL BAHHAR (Morocco) | 3rd feature – fiction

THE CEMETERY’S BIRDS – Madane EL GHAZOUANI (Morocco) | 2nd feature – fiction

LIKE A SISTER – Sonia TERRAB (Morocco) | 1st feature – fiction

MEDINA – Yassine FENNANE (Morocco) | 4th feature – fiction

Atlas Station – Selected Moroccan professionals

Atlas Station– Short Films in Post-Production

KANAF – Salma EL BELGHITI (Morocco) | 1st short film – fiction

ONLY THE PALM TREES REMAIN – Youssef BOUCETTA, Josh BRAININ (Morocco) | 2nd short film – fiction

TAKZDOUFT: GHOSTS OF MOUNTAINS – Omar HAZMIRI (Morocco) | 2nd short film – documentary

SAIDA – Amine ZERIOUH (Morocco) | 3rd short film – fiction WHERE THE SUN NEVER SETS

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