Marrakesh film festival top award goes to the Palestinian film ‘Happy Holidays’

The 21st edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival comes to a close with an emotionally-charged award ceremony.

The event was structured around a number of programmes, including the very recent ‘Conversations’ with renowned directors, as well as tributes to Naïma Elmcherqui, David Cronenberg, and Sean Penn, and the Atlas Workshops, which encourage directors to develop their films in progress during a week of workshops with over 300 film industry professionals.

The members of the jury praised the selection of films in competition before announcing the winners.

Roman Lutsky won the award for Best Performance by an Actor in Damian Kocur's film ‘Under The Volcano’. Kocur was also awarded the prize for Best Direction.

The jury made a first exception to the rule by awarding two Jury Prizes instead of one.

The first went to Silvina Schnicer's feature film ‘The Cottage’, and the second to Mo Harawe, a Somali director who took part in last year's Atlas Workshops, for his film ‘The Village Next to Paradise’.

Two prize-winners impressed the jury with their acting performances. Wafaa Aoun and Manar Shehab shared the prize for Best Actress for their portrayal of a mother and daughter in the film ‘Happy Holidays’.

'Happy Holidays’, directed by Palestinian filmmaker Scandar Copti, won the prestigious Etoile d'Or award.

This family drama tells the story of four people whose destinies intertwine.