Ouarzazate Film Festival 2016

The Ouarzazate International Film Festival (OIFF) is scheduled to take place between the 18th and 23rd of April in Qouarzazate.   The festival will showcase emerging filmmakers from Morocco and abroad. The festival takes place on the edge the sahara desert in unique settings of culture and filmmaking history

Festival organisers had to sift through almost 3000 entries

Interest in the festival from filmmakers is intense with 2978 films received by the organisers whose task it was to cut that number down to the 100 films to be featured at the festival.

For this first edition, the Ouarzazate International Film Festival accepted only short films (up to 26min) of all genres. Films could be submitted via online screener (Vimeo, YouTube, FilmFreeway or Reelport Screener). All non-English language films had to be subtitled in English.

There are only four awards on offer:  Best Short Fiction Film,  Best Short Documentary, Best Animated Short, Best Moroccan Short (all genres).

For visitors to Morocco. Ouarzazate is a must-see destination. Nicknamed "The door of the desert", the city is the capital of Ouarzazate Province in the Drâa-Tafilalet region of south-central Morocco. Ouarzazate is at an elevation of 1,160 metres (3,810 ft) in the middle of a bare plateau south of the High Atlas Mountains. To the south of the town is the desert.

The town is chiefly inhabited by Berber-speakers, who constructed many of the prominent kasbahs (locally known as: iɣeṛman) and buildings for which the area is known. Ouarzazate is an important holiday destination in Morocco, as a base for excursions across the Draa Valley and into the desert. The fortified village (ksar) of Ait Benhaddou west of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Ouarzazate area is a noted film-making location, with Morocco's biggest studios inviting many international companies to work here. Films such as Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Living Daylights (1987), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Kundun (1997), Legionnaire (1998), Hanna (2011), and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011) were shot here, as was part of the TV series Game of Thrones.

For more info visit the festival website: OIFF

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