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Moroccan actor Ayoub Gretaa has won the Best Actor award at the 40th edition of the Love International Film Festival (LIFF), which took place from March 7 to 15, 2025, in Mons, Belgium. The award recognizes the exceptional performance of Gretaa, who portrayed the character of Nour in «Across the Sea» by Saïd Hamich Benlarbi.
This is the second film by the French-Moroccan director, which was screened during the Critics' Week at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and was also selected for the international competition at the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM 2024). It was later shown to wider Moroccan audiences as part of the Rep-rise program of the Moroccan Cinematheque, where it received widespread praise.
Supported by the Atlas Workshops, the industry program of the FIFM, the film is a romance centered around Nour, a 27-year-old undocumented migrant in 1990s Marseille. Living by selling goods on the street, the young man's marginalized life is turned upside down by an encounter with a policeman and his wife, which leads the protagonist to question his life choices. «Ayoub Gretaa, in the role of Nour, embodies a complex and moving character, whose journey is marked by love, self-discovery, and social realities», states a press release.
Trained at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Art (ISADAC) in Rabat, Ayoub Gretaa masterfully plays his first leading role in cinema, now emerging as a rising star on the international acting scene. On television, he has distinguished himself in Moroccan TV series, including l'Maktoub and Dem Lmachrouk on 2M.
Elsewhere, Across the Sea has won several accolades, including the Audience Award at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival (Germany) and the CampUS Jury Award at the Seville International Film Festival (Spain). The film is produced by Barney Production (France), in co-production with MontFleuri Production (Morocco) and Tarantula (Belgium).
