Jessica Chastain at the Principal Over Marrakech Film Festival

Jessica Chastain will chair the jury at the Marrakech Film Festival, which runs from November 24 to December. 2.

The festival, which creates thousands of local jobs and is a source of pride for the Moroccan people, continued after the earthquake that hit the country in September. Thus, the 20th edition will take place, and not a single A-list star has refused to participate. A major cultural event in Morocco, Marrakesh is one of the few international festivals of its size where screenings and workshops are free and open to the public. Many famous directors and actors are expected to attend the festival.

Earlier this year, Chastain was able to attend the Venice Film Festival for Michel Franco’s Memento, which SAG-AFTRA had temporarily dropped.

Taking over from Paolo Sorrentino, Chastain will head the jury of the competition, which includes fourteen first-time or second-time films.

“I am honored to serve as President of the Jury for the esteemed Marrakech International Film Festival, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year,” Chastain said. “I am very happy to be back at the festival, having last attended the festival in 2011. It is a privilege to be entrusted with this role and I look forward to celebrating the incredible talent from around the world in the world of cinema.”

Chastain, who won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, is also an activist and producer. Her New York company Freckle Films produced “Memento,” as well as “355” and “George and Tammy.” She is currently working on adaptations of two novels: His and Hers by Alice Feeney and The School for Good Mothers by Jessamyn Chan.

As previously announced, Martin Scorsese will also attend the festival as an official patron of Atlas Workshops, the festival’s industry initiative aimed at promoting and supporting the emergence of a new generation of Moroccan, Arab and African filmmakers. The respected director is a regular at festivals in Marrakech. He chaired the jury in 2013 and presented an honorary tribute to Robert De Niro in 2018.

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