Spanish actress Mónica López will lead the jury at the 31st Festival de Cinéma Méditerranéen de Tétouan, which runs from 3 to 10 October. López, who won the Ondas Award for Best Actress for Rapa, will serve as president of the five-member jury. The panel will judge 10 feature films and documentaries in the main competition.
The other jury members are French TV producer Virginie Matéo, Italian director Rossella Inglese, Moroccan director and screenwriter Abdelhay Iraki, and Cypriot director and producer Michael Hapeshis.
The festival will also have a three-member critics’ jury for the Mustapha Mesnaoui Prize. It includes Moroccan film critic Saïd El Mezouari, Italian journalist and critic Alessandra De Luca, and Spanish journalist and author María Iglesias Real.
Six filmmakers and actors will receive tributes during the festival. They are Moroccan director Hicham Lasri, Syrian actress Sulafa Memar, Italian director Roberto Andò, Cypriot actress Popi Avraam, Egyptian actress Hanan Motawie and Spanish actress Marina Salas.
Tétouan and Matera in Italy are also taking part in the Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue programme this year. The programme includes cultural projects and exchanges between countries around the Mediterranean.
The festival began in 1985 as a series of film meetings organised by the Amis du Cinéma de Tétouan. It later developed into a major Mediterranean film festival.
Its programme includes the Ateliers de Tétouan, which supports new filmmakers through screenwriting and co-production projects.
The festival’s top award, the Tamouda Grand Prix of the City of Tétouan, comes with 60,000 dirhams ($6,100). Other prizes include awards for the jury, first feature, critics’ choice and acting.
