Bong Joon Ho, Jenna Ortega and Anya Taylor-Joy Kick Off Marrakech Film Festival in Style: ‘It Has Lived and Breathed International Cinema for the Past 22 Years’

The 22nd Marrakech Film Festival got off to a star-studded start on Friday night with a screening of Gus Van Sant’s “Dead Man Wire” attended by Bong Joon Ho, Jenna Ortega, Anya Taylor-Joy and more big names in international cinema.

“Parasite” Oscar winner Bong, who is serving as this year’s jury president, was welcomed with a standing ovation at the opening ceremony, introducing the festival by drawing a parallel with his own experiences at the age of 22.

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“I was greedily devouring movies as a student of cinema,” said Bong, who will delivering a masterclass next week at the festival. “Looking back, my 22-year-old self was brimming with energy and passion for cinema. I feel that Marrakech is also buzzing with a special energy as it enters its 22nd year.”

“Dead Man’s Wire,” which had its world premiere at Venice Film Festival, stars Bill Skarsgård as real-life criminal Tony Kiritsis, who in 1977 kidnapped his bank mortgager and embarked on a wild goose chase with the cops. The film has received generally positive reviews, with Variety‘s Owen Gleiberman calling it a miniature “Dog Day Afternoon,” adding that plays Kiritsis “with a jittery but logical fast-talk fervor that makes this one of the actor’s two or three most potent performances.” It’s set to hit theaters on Jan. 9 on a limited release before going wide Jan. 16.

Though only producer Cassian Elwes was present to introduce “Dead Man’s Wire,” the festival made up for it through its jam-packed jury. Alongside Bong as president, the jury includes “Wednesday” star Ortega, “Furiosa” lead Taylor-Joy, “Past Lives” and “Materialists” filmmaker Celine Song, “Titane” Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau, Bralizian director Karim Aïnouz, Moroccan filmmaker Hakim Belabbes and Iranian-American actor-director Payman Maadi. Assembled by the festival’s longtime president Melita Toscan du Plantier (who is also a producer), the jury will be discovering 14 films by first- and second-time directors which are playing in competition.

Toscan du Plantier told Variety on the red carpet before the opening night that the presence of high-profile filmmakers and talent on the jury is particularly meaningful for emerging directors. “It’s incredible for these directors to know that their first films are going to be watched by Bong Joon Ho, by all of these actors and directors,” said the festival’s president. She also revealed that Jodie Foster, who is receiving a tribute award at the festival, had arrived a few days ago for her very first trip to the country.

Song, for whom Marrakech Film Festival marks her first trip to Africa, said she was excited to watch movies by rising filmmakers. “What’s amazing about this festival is that it feels like a discovery festival,” she told Variety on the carpet. “I got to be a juror at Sundance this year, and that’s also a discovery festival. So I love walking in sort of not having all the context for movies. I feel like that’s pretty rare, instead of all the build up.”

In an interview with Variety ahead of the festival, Marrakech’s artistic director Remi Bonhomme described Marrakech as “a gateway between Europe and Africa, which allows us to operate both internationally and regionally.”

“At the same time,” Bonhomme said, “being at the end of the year places us right in the middle of the Oscar race. We want to embrace that strategic position both geographically and in terms of the calendar.” This year’s lineup indeed boasts many Oscar submissions for the international feature film race, including “Homebound” (co-produced by Toscan du Plantier), “Palestine 36,” “Calle Malaga,” “The President’s Cake,” “A Poet” and “No Other Choice.”

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer concurred, telling Variety that the Academy is “becoming more and more global.”

“We want to have a bigger presence in the Middle East and North Africa and I’m here to meet filmmakers and to talk about the Academy and to see a lot of great movies,” he said, adding that the “festival is more and more becoming a really key stop on the Oscars awards circuit.” Kramer, who will also deliver a conversation at the fest next week, pointed out that the Academy has “been here for the last couple of years and it’s becoming a real home for us.”

The ceremony closed with a tribute to renowned 85-year-old Egyptian actor Hussein Fahmi, who received huge applause from the Marrakech audience. After a reel played of his most famous roles, including “Watch Out for Zuzu” (1972) and “Alexandria Again and Forever” (1990), Fahmi shook hands with each jury member and beamed as he received more cheers from the crowd.

The Marrakech Film Festival runs through Dec. 6 and will include tributes to Foster and Guillermo del Toro alongside screenings of their latest films, as well as conversations with Kleber Mendonça Filho, Kramer, “The Matrix” star Laurence Fishburne, “It Was Just an Accident” Palme d’Or winner Jafar Panahi and “Blonde” director Andrew Dominik.