Tilda Swinton to Preside Over Marrakech Film Festival

Elsa Keslassy

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Tilda Swinton, the iconoclastic British actress and producer, is set to preside over the 18th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival, succeeding to American director James Gray.

Swinton, who won an Oscar and a BAFTA award for best supporting actress for “Michael Clayton,” has been leading an eclectic acting career. She has collaborated with prominent directors from different countries, for instance Bong Joon Ho on “Snowpiercer,” and “Okja;” Lynn Ramsay on “We Need to Talk About Kevin;” Jim Jarmusch on “Broken Flowers,” “The Dead Don’t Die” and “Only Lovers Left Alive;” the Coen Brothers on “Hail, Caesar!” and “Burn After Reading;” Luca Guadagnino on “I Am Love,” “A Bigger Splash” and “Suspiria;” and Wes Anderson on four films, including “Moonrise Kingdom” and the upcoming “The French Dispatch” which she recently wrapped shooting. She also starred in the Marvel Studios blockbuster “Doctor Strange.”

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“It is my honour to serve the exceptional festival of Marrakech as president of the Jury this year,” said Swinton.

“The State of Cinema knows no boundary and the prospect of joining with my comrades from around our planet to discover and celebrate work from all her continents is a privilege and joy for which I am sincerely grateful and to which I look forward immensely,” said Swinton.

Swinton started her career starring with “Caravaggio” directed by Derek Jarman with she made seven more films, including “The Last of England,” “The Garden,” “War Requiem” and “Edward II” for which she won best actress at Venice in 1991. The actress gained international recognition in 1992 with her performance in Sally Potter’s “Orlando” which was based on the novel by Virginia Woolf.

On top of “The French Dispatch,” Swinton recently finished shooting the second part of Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir” whose first film world premiered at Sundance this year, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria.”

Swinton has also been co-producing and exec producing feature films and documentaries, notably the 2018 documentary “Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema.”

The Marrakech made a big comeback in 2018 after a one-year hiatus and brought together a flurry of big names, notably Martin Scorsese, Robert de Niro, the late Agnes Varda, Guillermo Del Toro, Robert Pattinson, Dakota Johnson and Gray who presided the jury.

The Marrakech festival is run by a foundation presided by Morocco’s Prince Moulay Rachid, the brother of King Mohammed VI. The new programming team is spearheaded by Christoph Terhechte, the former head of the Berlin Film Festival’s Forum section.

The 18th edition of the festival will run Nov. 28-Dec. 7.

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