South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho will chair a star-powered jury at this year’s Marrakech International Film Festival, where Canadian director Celine Song, Anya Taylor-Joy and Jenna Ortega have joined the panel for the 22nd edition, running November 28 to December 6 in Morocco.
The main competition jury brings together eight figures from four continents: Bong, Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz, Moroccan filmmaker Hakim Belabbes, French director Julia Ducournau, Iranian actor and director Payman Maadi, Song, Taylor-Joy and Ortega. Organizers describe the group as a mix of generations and creative disciplines, spanning writing, directing and acting.
In a statement confirming his appointment, Bong said he was “delighted and honored” to join a festival that has long championed “fresh, beautiful films,” adding that he looked forward to sharing “a powerful cinematic experience” with audiences in Marrakech and reflecting on the value of cinema.
Song arrives in Morocco after the breakout success of her feature Past Lives, while Taylor-Joy’s profile has been shaped by work on The Queen’s Gambit and a string of studio projects. Ortega, known for the series Wednesday and the film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, adds another highly visible younger voice to the panel.
The jury will decide the Golden Star, awarded to one of 14 first or second features in competition, part of a wider program of 82 films from 31 countries across sections including Gala Screenings, Horizons, 11th Continent and Moroccan Panorama. Fifteen Moroccan titles are featured, underlining the festival’s role as a showcase for national cinema within an international setting.
This edition also includes tributes to Jodie Foster, Guillermo del Toro, Moroccan actor Raouya and Egyptian star Hussein Fahmi, with special screenings of their work across Marrakech venues. Festival leaders frame the event as a space for dialogue between cultures and generations, with the jury line-up presented as an extension of that ambition through its mix of regional roots and global careers.
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Song’s presence continues a year in which she has become a regular figure on the festival circuit, including jury service at Sundance, while Taylor-Joy and Ortega arrive as red-carpet draws whose work reaches wide streaming and theatrical audiences. For Marrakech, the combination of an Oscar-winning jury president and three in-demand rising stars signals confidence in its position as a meeting point for world cinema.
