Sean Penn, David Cronenberg, Late Great Moroccan Star Naïma Elmcherqui, Set For Marrakech Film Festival Career Honors
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sean Penn, David Cronenberg and late great Moroccan actor Naïma Elmcherqui are set to be celebrated with career tributes by the Marrakech International Film Festival.
Elmcherqui, who was one of Morocco’s best-loved personalities, died in Casablanca on Oct. 5. After becoming a household name during the 1960s and 70s working with Moroccan theatre director and dramatist Tayeb Seddiki she soared on the big-screen in movies such as Souheil Ben Barka’s “Blood Wedding” (1977), which was Morocco’s first submission for the international Oscar; Mohamed Abderrahman Tazi’s female empowerment drama “Badis” (1989); and, more recently Mohamed Mouftakir’s “The Fall of Apple Trees,” her final film role, for which Elmcherqui won the best actress prize at Sweden’s Malmö Arab Film Festival.
Elmcherqui – who was a member of the board of the foundation that oversees the Marrakech fest – had also appeared in a slew of soaps and Moroccan TV movies that boosted boosted her popularity. “Elmcherqui was a true grande dame.
Her departure leaves a void in the national cultural landscape,” the Marrakech fest said in a statement. “With this posthumous tribute, the festival honors the memory of an exceptional artist and deeply devoted woman who leaves behind a remarkably rich body of work,” it added.
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