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The eighth edition of the Atlas Workshops took place from November 30 to December 4 as part of the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM 2025), wrapping up on Thursday with the announcement of eight awards worth a total of €120,000 (nearly 1.2 million DH). This financial support will help the selected projects move forward in their development phases.
The jury for the Atlas post-production awards honored four films: «Don’t Let the Sun Go Up on Me» by Asmae El Moudir (Morocco) – €20,000; «La más dulce» by Laïla Marrakchi (Morocco) – €20,000; «Goma Enough Is Enough» by Elisé Sawasawa (DRC) – €10,000; and «Safe Exit» by Mohammed Hammad (Egypt) – €10,000.
The four Atlas development awards went to «Chapa 100» by Ique Langa (Mozambique) – €30,000; «Les dieux délinquants» by Boubacar Sangaré (Burkina Faso) – €20,000; and «A Childhood» by Scandar Copti (Palestine) and «Vanda» by Kamy Lara (Angola), awarded €5,000 each.
This year’s edition brought together 350 international professionals around 28 selected projects and films led by emerging Moroccan, Arab, and African filmmakers. The selection included 17 projects in development and 11 films in production or post-production representing 12 countries, along with 11 Atlas Station participants and several Moroccan film professionals. According to organizers, more than 185 sessions were held, including 90 individual consultations.
The Atlas Workshops’ co-production market also recorded more than 525 one-on-one meetings, marking a record since the program’s creation.
Rémi Bonhomme, Artistic Director of FIFM and the Atlas Workshops / Ph. FIFM
A synergy that fosters project growth
Immersed in several days of industry programming, the Workshops reveal feature-film projects that remain closely connected to their authors’ concerns and deeply rooted in their social environments. In this project incubator, these works in progress clearly represent a glimpse of tomorrow’s cinema, especially as many films developed within the Atlas Workshops have already achieved notable regional and even international success.
Developed at the Workshops, Asmae El Moudir’s documentary «The Mother of All Lies» illustrates the strength of this ecosystem. The process equipped the film with the artistic and technical tools that later earned it the Golden Star at FIFM 2023, along with multiple awards at prestigious international festivals. Also reflecting the rising significance of the industry program, Egyptian director Marwan Hamed’s latest feature, «El Sett», created buzz at its world premiere during FIFM 2025, after having first been presented in development at the seventh edition of the Workshops.
Among the 2025 participants, producer Yemoh Ike attended in support of the Ghanaian feature «Vagabonds», directed by Amartei Armar. «We have been working on this film since 2017. We started with a short film released in 2018. It won several awards, and that encouraged us to expand it into a feature-length film», he told Yabiladi.
A French-Ghanaian collaboration, the film tackles the issue of street children and the complex social realities surrounding them. «We hope this work will inspire my fellow citizens to show more empathy toward these children we have literally watched grow up during filming. Each of them has a story that could be ours», the producer said.
Representing diverse worlds, realities, and imaginations, the Atlas Workshops also feature several projects led by Moroccan filmmakers, both local and from the diaspora. Among them, French-Moroccan director Ayoub Layoussifi and Belgian-Moroccan filmmaker Zahoua Raji presented «Le Tangérois», their first co-directed feature.
Ayoub Layoussifi at the Atlas Workshops 2025 / Ph. FIFM
«The story follows Hassan, a man in his sixties. He is a former drug addict who spent more than twenty years struggling with addiction. After an overdose, he ends up in prison, and upon his release, he is determined to rebuild himself. The film is entirely centered on a father’s quest for redemption», Raji explained. For Layoussifi, the Atlas Workshops are «not just a showcase but the very place where this film is taking shape».
«We know that simply being selected is already a mark of credibility, seriousness, and depth. It also gives us international visibility, especially at this early stage of development. We are only at the first version of the script, and we are grateful for this support».
Personalized support tailored to each project
Lebanese actress, director, and screenwriter Mounia Akl is also developing one of the 28 selected projects: «Hold Me If You Want», her second feature film. «With my producers, Sophie Erbs and Myriam Sassine, we present the pitch and meet professionals. I am also taking part in FIFM 2025 as the lead actress in Cyril Aris’s film A Fragile and Wonderful World, screened on December 6 in the Horizon section», she told us.
Her film follows a Lebanese woman who lost her mother in the August 4, 2020 Beirut explosion. She «tries to suppress the suffering she has endured and lead as normal a life as possible, like many Lebanese who live in constant dissociation, even preparing for her wedding». At night, however, her traumas resurface in episodes of night terrors. During psychiatric treatment, she begins to confront her buried demons.
Akl, who is further developing an already-written script, says «the Atlas Workshops are the ideal setting for a project like mine, because the work here is both professional and caring». She adds that this support comes «at the perfect time».
Ph. FIFM
«I am at the most difficult stage of development, and the mentoring here is exactly what I need. I’m also meeting industry professionals who will be crucial for the next steps. New friendships are forming with other directors, and future collaborations may emerge».
This vibrant and supportive environment also drew Egyptian screenwriter Jad Chahine to the Workshops. «This is my first time here with FIFM and the industry program, but I submitted my project because I saw the synergies around films developed in previous editions and witnessed their impact. I also heard the way people talk about it, and I’m happy to have been selected», he said.
«Whether you win or simply participate, every project receives real support and attention. That’s why the Atlas Workshops are the ideal place. It’s a space to meet people, build a professional network, and discuss the industry realistically to understand both constraints and potential. All of this matters for any director, producer, or screenwriter trying to bring a pitch to life».
Stories that mirror society’s wounds
Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu, patron of this year’s edition, expressed his enthusiasm. After reviewing the selected projects, he shared with Yabiladi that he found «a kind of innocence, freshness, and originality that often accompanies a filmmaker’s first or second feature».
Cristian Mungiu, patron of the eighth edition of the Atlas Workshops / Ph. FIFM
«I also sensed a desire to create pure, uncompromising cinema, with stories that are both strong and deeply personal, each rooted in the society to which the filmmaker belongs».
Praising cinema’s ability to confront social and personal traumas, he added that «many of these stories reflect painful individual or collective experiences, where the artist’s perspective is essential». For Mungiu, cinema remains an art capable of «helping us understand one another and bringing people together».
