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A distinguished tribute was paid to the American actor and director Sean Penn on Saturday evening at the 21st Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM 2024) in recognition of his illustrious career in the film industry. Driven by an engaged perspective that constantly questions the state of the world, his cinematic contributions blend artistic and humanistic expression—sometimes political, sometimes offbeat—serving as reflections on both individual and collective experiences, all executed with outstanding dramatic talent.
The son of actress Eileen Ryan and actor-director Leo Penn, the Santa Monica (California) native grew up immersed in cinema during the politically charged Cold War era. His father, a former World War II pilot, was blacklisted during McCarthyism for refusing to name names, intertwining Sean Penn’s life with the realms of both art and politics. It is no wonder these dual influences have shaped the evolution of «Hollywood's enfant terrible».
On screen, behind the camera, or in production, the double Oscar-winning star has marked generations of film lovers with complex roles, including a death row inmate in Dead Man Walking (Tim Robbins, 1995), a jazz guitarist in Sweet and Lowdown (Woody Allen, 2000), a single father with a disability in I Am Sam (Jessie Nelson, 2002), and a Boston crime lord in Mystic River (Clint Eastwood, 2003).
Sean Penn / Ph. FIFM
This last role earned Penn his first Oscar for Best Actor in 2003, with a second following in 2009 for his portrayal of a city councilman coming out in Milk (Gus Van Sant).
Keen to explore human themes through the aesthetics of cinema, Penn has explained his motivation for filmmaking as a desire to address isolation: «I feel that people are isolating themselves today in their fears, struggles, and pains. I want to help them by showing on screen that other people feel the same things and that we are never completely alone», he remarked in television interviews during the 1990s.
Cinema against the tide of political correctness
Celebrating his career at the Palais des Congrès in Marrakech, Penn expressed gratitude, saying, «Let me thank His Majesty King Mohammed VI, His Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, the festival director Mélita Toscan Du Plantier, my friend Valeria Golino, the audience in this room, and the 37 million Moroccans around us». He received his award emotionally from Italian actress Valeria Golino.
Ph. FIFM
Penn used the opportunity to emphasize the need to continue enriching the diversity of cinema as a response to political correctness. «For those who know me, you know I never miss an opportunity to express an opinion, and I have one regarding this festival that brings together people in the diversity of their talents», he stated.
«It is our role to express our diversity in a positive sense, against political correctness (…) as a critique of what has become of liberalism in the United States and elsewhere in the world. I therefore call on everyone to be as politically incorrect as their heart desires. Keep writing and telling stories to enrich this diversity».
Directorial achievements
Sean Penn, who won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 for She's So Lovely (Nick Cassavetes), has also distinguished himself as a director. Drawing inspiration from the American cultural mosaic and global themes, his works celebrate the diversity he advocates. In 1991, he established his reputation as a filmmaker with The Indian Runner, inspired by Bruce Springsteen's song «Highway Patrolman» and an Indian legend about the rite of passage to adulthood.
Sean Penn / Ph. FIFM
Penn continued this trajectory with The Crossing Guard (1995), directing Jack Nicholson, and achieved worldwide success in 2007 with Into the Wild. In between, he directed The Pledge (2001) and more recently contributed to cinema both as an actor and director in Flag Day (2021).
The secret to his success, Penn has said, lies in the balance of «absorbing» a character without becoming completely immersed, allowing him to naturally embody roles while maintaining critical distance.
