Jesse Eisenberg’s ‘The Debut’ To Open 2026 Marrakech Film Festival; Full Lineup Unveiled

Jesse Eisenberg’s comedy The Debut, starring Julianne Moore as a shy housewife who discovers a passion for amateur theater, has been unveiled as the opening film of the 23rd Marrakech International Film Festival later this month. It will be among 76 films from 39 countries playing in Morocco’s premiere film festival across the Official Competition and Gala Screenings as well as the Horizons; the 11th Continent; a Moroccan Panorama; Young Audiences and Families; and Tributes sidebars. Fourteen first and second features will compete for the festival’s Étoile d’Or in Official Competition, showcasing new voices in world cinema, with Marion Cotillard presiding over the jury. The contenders include Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo’s Cannes Caméra d’Or winner Ben’imana set in the wake of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda; Abdallah Al-Khatib’s In Chronicles from the Siege, about Palestinian civilians trapped in a war zone, which won Best First Feature at the Berlinale, and Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu’s House of the Wind, a tender portrait of a Cameroonian woman whose children have left for Europe, which won the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize and Lion of the Future Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film in Venice Watch on Deadline Three contenders will make their world premiere in Marrakech: Moroccan director Yassine Marco Marroccu’s Alkebulan, an adventure film set in the Sahara in the 1960s and Italy in the 1930s; Iranian-Norwegian filmmaker Farzad Samsami’s Waves of Silence, a moral drama about migrant shipwrecks, and Rani and Salem Massalha’s Cairo Shadows, a thriller set in the Coptic Christian community in Egypt. The Gala Screenings – which kick off with The Debut – include two world premieres: Fellipe Barbosa’s Leila et la nuit, inspired by the life of Moroccan photographer Leila Alaoui and starring Roschdy Zem and Marina Foïs, and Omar Hilal’s adventure film and black comedy His Weakest Creatures, which brings Egyptian stars Ahmed Helmy and Hend Sabry together on screen for the first time. Other highlights of the program include Noah Segan’s The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, starring John Turturro; Laïla Marrakchi’s feminist survival tale Strawberries, which has been selected as Morocco’s submission to the Oscars; James Gray’s Paper Tiger and Luca Guadagnino unveils Artificial. The Horizons section, giving a snapshot of international independent cinema includes several Cannes honorees topped by Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winner Fjord and as well as Arab titles that have been making waves on the festival circuit including Mohammed Hammad’s psychological thriller Safe Exit, Sara Ishaq’s The Station and Ahmed Hassouna’s Citizen Osama. The 11th Continent program – showcasing features 13 films that explore free, innovative cinema – includes fiction films by Danielle Arbid, Sompot Chidgasornpongse, and Radu Jude, as well as the documentaries Edward Said: Between Worlds and Bedeau, Transit Camp, the latter a world premiere. The Moroccan Panorama features six fiction and documentary films, including Tala Hadid’s Bardi, which opens the program, and three world premieres, among them Mohamed Mouftakir’s Hoods. In total, 11 Moroccan films are featured across the festival’s various sections, in addition to three films shot in Morocco. In the The Young Audiences & Families section, featuring 11 screenings intended for children, teens, and their families, Jamel Debbouze will present Philippe Riche’s animated film Girl in the Clouds, while Mohcine Besri unveils the world premiere of All But My Mother, starring Omar Lotfi and Abdellah Didane. The festival will run from November 20 to 28. OFFICIAL COMPETITIONALKEBULAN (world premiere)by Yassine Marco MarroccuMorocco, Hungary, QatarBEN’IMANAby Marie-Clémentine DusabejamboRwanda, Gabon, France, Norway CAIRO SHADOWS (world premiere)by Rani Massalha & Salem MassalhaFrance, Belgium, Tunisia, Egypt CHRONICLES FROM THE SIEGEby Abdallah Al-KhatibAlgeria, France, PalestineCONGO BOYby Rafiki FarialaCentral African Republic, France, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ItalyA DAY IN THE LIFE OF JO: CHAPTER PHAEDRAby Jacqueline LentzouGreece, Germany, FranceEKLIPSEby Manuel WetscherAustria, ItalyFURIESby Rami KodeihLebanon, Brazil HOUSE OF THE WIND by Auguste Bernard Kouemo YanghuCameroon, France, Belgium, Benin, Saudi Arabia, QatarMARIE MADELEINEby Gessica GénéusFrance, Haiti, Belgium, Luxembourg, CanadaOUR SHARE OF SANDby Shalini AdnaniUnited Kingdom, India, GreeceSAD GIRLZby Fernanda TovarMexico, Spain, France WAVES OF SILENCE (world premiere)by Farzad SamsamiNorway, Morocco, SwedenTHE WORLD BEFOREby Yoon Dan-biSouth Korea, Japan, FranceGALA SCREENINGSTHE DEBUT (opening film)by Jesse EisenbergU.S. ARTIFICIALby Luca GuadagninoU.S. UK, ItalyHIS WEAKEST CREATURES (world premiere)by Omar HilalUK, Egypt, Saudi Arabia LEILA ET LA NUIT (world premiere)by Fellipe BarbosaFrance, Morocco, Brazil THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORKby Noah SeganU.S. PAPER TIGERby James GrayU.S, Brazil, Italy STRAWBERRIES (LA MÁS DULCE)by Laïla MarrakchiFrance, Morocco, Spain, BelgiumHORIZONSALL OF A SUDDENby Ryusuke HamaguchiFrance, Japan, Germany, BelgiumA BIT OF LIGHTby Ali AsgariIran, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, TurkeyTHE BURNING GIANTSby Phuttiphong AroonphengThailand, Singapore, France, NetherlandsCITIZEN OSAMAby Ahmed HassounaCLARISSAby Arie Esiri & Chuko EsiriNigeria, U.SDAOby Alain GomisFrance, Senegal, Guinea-BissauTHE DIFFICULT BRIDEby Rubaiyat HossainFrance, Bangladesh, Portugal, Norway, Germany EVERYTIMEby Sandra WollnerGermany, AustriaFATHERLANDby Pawel PawlikowskiPoland, Germany, Italy, FranceFJORDby Cristian MungiuRomania, France, Norway, Denmark, Finland, SwedenGLAXOby Benjamín NaishtatArgentina, BrazilIT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHTby Nanni MorettiItaly, France, SpainKETTICÈby Giovanni TortoriciItalyA LONG WINTERby Andrew HaighUK, CanadaLOOK BACKby Hirokazu Kore-edaJapanTHE ROSES OF MARRAKECHby Ginevra ElkannItaly, Morocco, FranceSAFE EXITby Mohammed HammadEgypt, Libya, Qatar, Tunisia, GermanyTHE SMELL OF APPLES by John TrengoveSouth Africa, Netherlands, ChileTHE STATIONby Sara IshaqYemen, Jordan, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar THAT’S ALL FOLKS by Gustave KervernFranceWOMAN UNKNOWN by May el-ToukhyDenmark, Latvia, Sweden THE 11TH CONTINENT9 TEMPLES TO HEAVENby Sompot ChidgasornpongseThailand, Singapore, France, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Qatar AL BARANEYAby Ashgan El-HamusNetherlands, Egypt, Belgium, Saudi ArabiaBEDEAU, TRANSIT CAMP (world premiere)by Yohana BenattarFrance – DocumentaryTHE DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAIDby Radu JudeFrance, RomaniaEDWARD SAID: BETWEEN WORLDSby Maiken BairdU.S. DocumentaryENOUGH IS ENOUGH by Elisé SawasawaFrance, Democratic Republic of the Congo – DocumentaryI DESERVE A LOVER WHOSE EVERY RISE SETS FIERY DOOMS RAGING ACROSS THE SKIESby Mani HaghighiIran – DocumentaryNAHLAby Farouk BeloufaAlgeria – 1979ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEMby William Greaves, David GreavesU.S.– DocumentaryONLY REBELS WINby Danielle ArbidFrance, Lebanon, QatarTILAÏby Idrissa OuedraogoBurkina Faso, Switzerland, France – 1990 – restored version VARIATIONS ON A THEMEby Jason Jacobs & Devon DelmarSouth Africa, Netherlands, QatarYESTERDAY THE EYE DIDN’T SLEEPby Rakan MayasiBelgium, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi ArabiaMOROCCAN PANORAMABANOU (world premiere)by Mouhssine El BadaouiBelgium, Morocco – DocumentaryBARDIby Tala HadidMorocco, France, United States, Qatar – Documentary HALIMAby Yassine El IdrissiMoroccoHOODS (world premiere)by Mohamed MouftakirMoroccoMAN OF SIGNS (world premiere)by Zhor Fassi-FihriMorocco, FranceUNTIL DAWN by Mohamed ZineddaineMorocco, Italy CINEMA FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES & FAMILIESALL BUT MY MOTHER (world premiere)by Mohcine BesriMorocco GIRL IN THE CLOUDSby Philippe RicheFrance, BelgiumTHE LAST WHALE SINGERby Reza MemariGermanyLOOK BACKby Hirokazu Kore-edaJapan MUYIby Julien ChhengFranceTUMMY TOM AND THE LOST TEDDY BEARby Joost van den Bosch, Erik VerkerkNetherlands, Belgium