Programmes 2021

Panels & discussions

The Atlas Workshops opens up space for reflection through a series of round tables and panel discussions in which professionals share their experience and explore contemporary issues related to cinema in the African continent and the Arab world.
 

Conversation with Hend Sabry: From Her Acting Career to Her New Role as Executive Producer for the Netflix Arabic Series Finding Ola

Introduced at the age of 14 in Moufida Tlatli's The Silences of the Palace in 1994, Hend Sabry first made a name for herself in Tunisian cinema then moved to Cairo, where she was popularised in television series while collaborating with Egyptian filmmakers Inas Al Deghidi, Marwan Hamed and Yousry Nasrallah, among others. Considered one of the greatest stars of Arab cinema, the Egyptian-Tunisian actor navigates with the same success between television, commercial and art-house works. Recently, her interpretation of the lead character of Hend Boujemaa’s Noura Dreams earned her awards for Best Actress at the Carthage and El Gouna Film Festivals. This unique career has led Sabry to take on a new role: that of executive producer for Finding Ola, a Netflix Arabic series that marks her first collaboration with the platform.

Moderator:
Rémi Bonhomme, Artistic Director of the Marrakech International Film Festival / Director of the Atlas Workshops

Replay

How to Create Fictional Characters by Dealing with Reality – A Conversation with Nabil Ayouch about Casablanca Beats

With his seventh feature film, presented in the Official Competition at this year’s Festival de Cannes, Nabil Ayouch continues his work of observing reality, which has often led him to work with non-professional actors. Casablanca Beats features young people from the Les Étoiles de Sidi Moumen Cultural Centre, who play fictional characters sometimes inspired by their own experiences, thus blurring the line between reality and fiction. The film is the result of three years of shooting, during which the editing took place in parallel, allowing for ongoing rewrites.
In this conversation, Ayouch reflects on the process of creating this fiction film that has a sense of the documentary. From casting to directing actors to improvising on stage: How does one create fictional characters while dealing with reality?

Moderator:
Jihane Bougrine, Film critic and journalist

Replay

Diaspora Festivals and Their Initiatives: An alternative to independent film distribution?

Among the many events and markets dedicated to the distribution of world cinema, festivals play a major role—and there is a substantial alternative network of community and diaspora festivals that are dedicated to the promotion of independent and under-represented films.
What impact do these festivals have on audiences and on the promotion of films? What are they doing to ensure that films enjoy wide distribution? How do they work with the people of the diasporas they represent? Might these networks constitute an alternative to traditional theatrical distribution?
Looking at testimony and examples, this panel questions the role that festivals dedicated to films from the Arab world and the African continent and their diasporas can play today in bringing the cinema of these regions and peoples closer to audiences.

Speakers:
Ana Camila Esteves, Mostra de cinemas africanos (Brazil)
Batoul Ardat, Malmö Arab Film Festival - MAFF (Sweden)
Christian Mouroux, LatinArab International Film Festival (Argentina)
Karim Aitouna, Producer (Morocco, France)
Marion Berger, Festival de Cine Africano - FCAT (Spain, Morocco)

Moderator:
Ilaria Gomarasca, Head of First Cut+

Replay

Co-production Market

Participating projects and films are presented in the framework of a co-production market, at which filmmakers have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with international professionals in order to find co-producers, sales agents or other partners. This year, the co-production market will take place online, bringing together 300 international industry professionals.

Atlas Station

 An initiative of the Atlas Workshops, Atlas Station is a workspace for accredited filmmakers and producers who are developing a feature-length fiction or documentary project, or who seek to enrich their knowledge through engaging with international speakers attending the workshops to share their experience on select themes.

The Atlas Station consists of two sections, which have been developed to provide the most appropriate support to participants: Consultations and Training Sessions.

 

  • Atlas Station – Consultations

Half-hour consultations by invitation only with experts during which participants discuss and diagnose the obstacles that sometimes hinder the progress of documentary or fiction projects.

Once again this year, we are pleased to partner with Powered by DOX Garage, a DOX BOX programme, which offers this support for documentary projects. Sessions are organized for fiction projects with the Atlas Workshops team.

 

  • Atlas Station – Training Sessions

Intense, concise sessions that allow for more direct exchange between participants and experts. Open to all accredited Atlas Workshops participants who seek to strengthen their skills, these different modules of between 45 and 60 minutes are led by international experts who share their experience and knowledge in a variety of fields, from writing to distribution.

- Rootworthy Characters with Christopher Mack (Director, Creative Talent Investment & Development - Netflix)

Find out how your character's goals, the values they believe in and the choices they make determine whether they reach iconic status and are loved by millions of people around the world, or fade into obscurity because they have no rooting interest.  

- Overview of the Creative Producer Indaba programme with Elias Ribeiro (Producer - Realness & Urucu) and the producers Lesedi Moche, Toni Kamau and Souleymane Kebe

The Creative Producer Indaba programme provides professional training and creative vision and leadership skills to emerging African producers. Several producers who participated in the programme this year share their experiences.

- Developing an International Project with Sébastien Onomo (Producer - Special Touch Studios)

A presentation of the tools, partnerships and networks that are essential to the international development of feature-length film projects.

- The Use of Social Networks in Promoting Feature-Length Films with Mathias Noschis (Film Marketing Strategist - Alphapanda)

The digitization of means of communication is changing the way films are promoted today in a fundamental way. Pointing to concrete examples of recent films, this presentation explores the various aspects of promoting films on social networks and how the digital dimension fits into traditional marketing methods.

Guest Programmes

Every year, the Atlas Workshops arranges collaborations and exchanges with programmes and structures that support filmmakers and producers from the African continent and the Arab world.

Creative Producer Indaba

Creative Producer Indaba (CPI) provides professional training and creative vision and leadership skills to emerging African producers, running three sessions over the course of the year. As part of its Atlas Station Training Sessions, the Atlas Workshops presents an experience-sharing session with several producers who have participated in the CPI programme.

In addition, the Atlas Workshops have invited producer Wafa Tajdin and director Akinola Davies to present their project The Last Post Office in Lagos at this year’s virtual co-production market.

DOX BOX

For the second year in a row, the Atlas Workshops partners with the DOX BOX programme Powered by DOX Garage, offering support for documentary films taking part in the Atlas Station consultations. Eight feature-length documentary projects will benefit from a half-hour consultation with an expert provided by DOX BOX.

Ouaga Film Lab

The Ouaga Film Lab, a development and co-production laboratory for professionals from West, Central and Great Lakes Africa, takes place every year in Burkina Faso. Since 2020, the Atlas Workshops Award is given to a producer or filmmaker from the selection, who is invited to participate in the next edition of the Atlas Workshops.

The 2020 winner of the award, Rwandan filmmaker Mbabazi Sharangabo Philbert Aimé, is accredited as a professional to this online edition of the Atlas Workshops and benefits from a consultation on his project Minimals in a Titanic World.

In 2021, the award was given to director and producer Yoro Mbaye, who received a professional invitation to the 5th edition of the Atlas Workshops in 2022, and is accredited for this 4th online edition.

Realness African Screenwriters Residency

Since 2020, the Atlas Workshops Award has been given to one of the residents of the Realness programme, which supports African filmmakers in the writing and development phases of their projects.

The winner of the award in 2020, Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka, is accredited for this year’s edition of the Atlas Workshops and benefits from a consultation on their project African Titanics. There was no edition of Realness in 2021.

Photo Gallery

Opening of the Atlas Workshops with Rémi Bonhomme (Artistic Director, Marrakech International Film Festival / Director, Atlas Workshops) and Ali Hajji (General Coordinator, Marrakech International Film Festival)
Pitching session of the 11 selected projects in development
The directors and producers of the 11 selected projects in development
Panel "Conversation with Hend Sabry: From Her Acting Career to Her New Role as Executive Producer for the Netflix Arabic Series Finding Ola"
Panel "Conversation with Hend Sabry: From Her Acting Career to Her New Role as Executive Producer for the Netflix Arabic Series Finding Ola"
Training Session "Rootworthy Characters with Christopher Mack (Netflix)"
Screening session of the 8 selected films in production or post-production
The directors and producers of the 8 selected films in production or post-production
Panel "How to Create Fictional Characters by Dealing with Reality – A Conversation with Nabil Ayouch about Casablanca Beats"
Panel "How to Create Fictional Characters by Dealing with Reality – A Conversation with Nabil Ayouch about Casablanca Beats"
Panel "How to Create Fictional Characters by Dealing with Reality – A Conversation with Nabil Ayouch about Casablanca Beats"
Training Session "Overview of the Creative Producer Indaba programme with Elias Ribeiro (Producer - Realness & Urucu) and the producers Lesedi Moche, Toni Kamau and Souleymane Kebe"
Digital co-production market
Digital co-production market
Training Session "Developing an International Project with Sébastien Onomo (Producer - Special Touch Studios)"
Training Session "The Use of Social Networks in Promoting Feature-Length Films with Mathias Noschis (Film Marketing Strategist - Alphapanda)"
Panel "Diaspora Festivals and Their Initiatives: An alternative to independent film distribution?"
Atlas Workshops 2021 Awards Ceremony
ATLAS PRIZE FOR POST-PRODUCTION: THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES (LA MÈRE DE TOUS LES MENSONGES) – Asmae El Moudir (Morocco)
ATLAS PRIZE FOR POST-PRODUCTION: UNDER THE FIG TREES (SOUS LES FIGUES) – Erige Sehiri (Tunisia), Produced by Erige Sehiri (Tunisia), Co-produced by Palmyre Badinier (Switzerland) and Didar Domehri (France)
ATLAS PRIZE FOR DEVELOPMENT: THE CHATTERING OF TEETH – Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (Lesotho), Produced by Cait Pansegrouw, Elias Ribeiro (South Africa)
ATLAS PRIZE FOR DEVELOPMENT: LA MÁS DULCE – Laïla Marrakchi (Morocco)
ATLAS PRIZE FOR DEVELOPMENT: THE LAST DAYS OF R.M. (LES DERNIERS JOURS DE R.M.) – Amin Sidi-Boumédiène (Algeria), Produced by Louise Bellicaud, Claire Charles-Gervais (France)
ARTEKINO INTERNATIONAL PRIZE: SWEET DISPOSITION – Youssef Michraf (Morocco), Produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond, Camille Marquet (France)