The Atlas Workshops unveil their 2026 selection, with Kleber Mendonça Filho as patron

The Atlas Workshops (Ateliers de l’Atlas), the industry platform of the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM), have unveiled their 2026 selection. For this 9th edition, held in Marrakech from 22 to 26 November, 30 projects and films from 14 countries were chosen out of 410 applications. The festival made the announcement in Rabat on 19 October.

The Workshops support the development of Moroccan, Arab and African cinema. This year's selection brings together new talent and directors already known internationally.

Kleber Mendonça Filho, patron of the edition

Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho is the patron of this 9th edition. He made his name with Neighbouring Sounds (2012), Aquarius (2016) and Bacurau (2019), winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes. His latest film, The Secret Agent, won Best Director at Cannes in 2025, then two Golden Globes and four Oscar nominations in 2026.

"Listening to new ideas and grasping the aspirations of new generations of filmmakers is a source of inspiration for my own work. […] Being the patron of the Atlas Workshops gives me the feeling of witnessing, before my eyes, the birth of new films."

30 projects and films, three categories

The 30 picks were chosen from 320 projects in development and 90 films in production or post-production. They break down as follows:

• 14 projects in development: 12 fiction and 2 documentary, including 6 first features. They include directors already noticed for earlier work, such as Amjad Abu Alala (You Will Die at Twenty), Laila Abbas, Meryem Benm’Barek (Sofia, Behind the Palm Trees), Sofia Alaoui (Animalia) and Yasmine Benkiran (Queens).
• 11 films in production or post-production, including 5 first features. Four of them already went through the Workshops at the development stage: Seasons of the Weary Kind by Samuel Ishimwe (Rwanda), Eldorado by Alaa Eddine Aljem (Morocco), Fagadaga by Yoro Mbaye (Senegal) and Wolfmother by Ismaël El Iraki (Morocco).
• 5 projects in the Atlas Perspectives section (Regards sur l’Atlas), dedicated to Moroccan cinema: 4 fiction and 1 documentary.

The 14 countries represented are Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, Syria and Tunisia.

The Moroccan projects

• Cendres - Meryem Benm’Barek, 3rd feature, fiction (in development)
• Les Endormis - Sofia Alaoui, 2nd feature, fiction (in development)
• La Valse des sauvages - Yasmine Benkiran, 2nd feature, fiction (in development)
• Eldorado - Alaa Eddine Aljem, 2nd feature, fiction (in post-production)
• Wolfmother - Ismaël El Iraki, 2nd feature, fiction (in post-production)
• Amar a réalisé son rêve - Samira El Mouzghibati, 2nd feature, documentary (Atlas Perspectives)
• B512, l’homme qui oublia de mourir - Jihane El Bahhar, 3rd feature, fiction (Atlas Perspectives)
• Comme ma sœur - Sonia Terrab, 1st feature, fiction (Atlas Perspectives)
• Medina - Yassine Fennane, 4th feature, fiction (Atlas Perspectives)
• Les Oiseaux du cimetière - Madane El Ghazouani, 2nd feature, fiction (Atlas Perspectives)

Atlas Station: 8 young producers and 5 short films

The Atlas Station programme supports young Moroccan professionals. This year it welcomes 8 producers, 4 women and 4 men, chosen from 30 applications: Hamza Azeroual, Rita Berrada, Hiba El Abkari, Roaa Idali, Nadia Janati Idrissi, Yassin Karmoudi, Younes Lazrak and Reda Zerouali. They will take part in meetings and exchanges with international professionals on every aspect of production.

Atlas Station also supports 5 Moroccan short films in post-production, chosen from 24 applications: Kanaf by Salma El Belghiti, Only the Palm Trees Remain by Youssef Boucetta and Josh Brainin, Takzdouft, Ghosts of Mountains by Omar Hazmiri, Saida by Amine Zeriouh and Where the Sun Never Sets by Yassine Ouahrani.

Atlas Programs

Created in 2018, the Atlas Workshops are part of Atlas Programs, which gathers the FIFM's industry initiatives. It also includes Atlas Press, for film criticism, the Atlas Distribution Meetings, which bring together some sixty professionals from Africa, the Arab world and Europe, and the Atlas Distribution Awards, which support the release of films.

Key facts

• What: 9th Atlas Workshops, at the 23rd Marrakech International Film Festival
• When: 22 to 26 November 2026 (Atlas Press from 23 to 27 November), during the festival from 20 to 28 November
• Selection: 30 projects and films, 14 countries, 410 applications
• Patron: Kleber Mendonça Filho
• Official website: marrakech-festival.com