Marrakesh film festival tribute to Morocco's Hassan el Joundi, prize to Algerian movie Rachida

The International Film Festival of Marrakesh paid a special tribute to Moroccan artist Mohamed Hassan El Joundi and awarded him the "Golden Star," in recognition of his talent as a playwright, actor and director.

Hassan El Joundi, who started his career in 1957, is also known as a story teller on the Moroccan radio. He gained international fame for his participation in Arab and international movies and TV serials.

During the Marrakesh festival, the Algerian movie "Rachida," by Yamina Bachir, won the "Cinema du Sud" Prize awarded by the French TV5 channel.

The awarding ceremony was held Sunday at the Mehdi palace in the presence of the President of the TV network, Serge Adda, and Andre Azoulay, advisor to King Mohammed VI and delegate vice-chairman of the festival Foundation.

Deeply moved, the Algerian movie-maker dedicated her film "to all those who are suffering from violence, exclusion and intolerance across the world" as well as to her people.

Serge Adda said TV5 chose the Marrakesh Festival to award the "Cinema du Sud" Prize, given the echos the festival stirs on the international scale and its option to consecrate one of its sections to the cinematography and to young talents from the South, that need encouragement more than ever before at a moment the battle of images is raging.

The prize amount, worth 180,000 FF, will be invested in another feature movie by the award recipient. "Rachida," based on a real story, will be purchased and broadcast by the world network of TV5.

Chairwoman of the "Cinema du Sud" jury, producer Yamina Benguigui, highlighted the role of the Marrakesh festival in fostering rapprochement between the cinema of the north and that of the south and as a platform where professionals from the four corners of the world can trade viewpoints.

Some 15 feature movies from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Senegal, and Tunisia, were vying for the prize.