Franco-Tunisian director Erige Sehiri won the Golden Star award at the Marrakech International Film Festival on Saturday evening for Promis le Ciel (Promised Sky), which tells the story of a group of Ivorian migrants struggling to make ends meet. She dedicated the prize to anti-racist activist Saadia Mosbah, who has been imprisoned in Tunisia since 2024.
"I would like to thank the Tunisians who have supported the migrant population in Tunisia and all those who have had the courage to speak out on issues of freedom," Sehiri said upon receiving her Golden Star (Étoile d’or) award on Saturday.
The 22nd Marrakech International Film Festival was presided over by South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho.
Alongside him were Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz, Moroccan director Hakim Belabbes, French director Julia Ducournau, Iranian actor and director Payman Maadi, US actor Jenna Ortega, Canadian-Korean director Celine Song and British-Argentinian actor Anya Taylor-Joy.
"I would like to dedicate this award to Saadia Mosbah, a prominent human rights and anti-racism activist, who has been in prison for a year and a half," Sehiri added.
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Regression of rights
Jailed since May 2024, Mosbah is suspected of facilitating the illegal entry of migrants.
Tunisia is a key transit point for thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa seeking to reach Europe by sea, but conditions for them have become increasingly more difficult.
Tunisian and foreign NGOs say they have witnessed a regression of rights and freedoms in Tunisia since President Kais Saied granted himself full powers after a coup at the end of July 2021.
In February 2023, Saied declared that "hordes of sub-Saharan migrants" threatened to "change the demographic composition" of the country.
In the following weeks, thousands of migrants, deprived of work and housing, were either urgently repatriated or clandestinely took to the sea to flee Tunisia.
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It is precisely in this context that Sehiri situates her story in Promised Sky, which opened the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist, has lived in Tunisia for 10 years.
She takes in Naney, a young mother who has left her daughter behind in Côte d'Ivoire, saving up to pay her passage on a boat to Europe.
Then there's Jolie, a strong-willed student who carries the hopes of her family.
But the arrival of a little girl Kenza, whose parents died when their migrant boat capsized, challenges the women's sense of solidarity, pushing them to make difficult decisions.
The jury awarded Best Actress to Debora Lobe Naney for her role as Naney, a non-professional actor, who was recruited during a public audition.
Exploring humanity
The Grand jury prize was shared between Jihan K’s My Father and Qaddafi and Vladlena Sandu’s Memory.
The Best Directing Prize was awarded to Oscar Hudson for Straight Circle. The jury also awarded a special mention to the film's actors Elliot Tittensor and Luke Tittensor.
Best Performance by an Actor went to Sope Dirisu for his work in Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father's Shadow, a film set in Nigeria.
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American actress Jodie Foster received an Étoile d’or for her lifetime achievement and gave a moving speech about her relationship with cinema.
"I am still guided by the same love: telling stories, bringing characters to life, asking questions about our connections and our vulnerabilities, and exploring our humanity," she told the audience.
Foster also paid tribute to Morocco: "All this enthusiasm and warmth! This is what Morocco is about: a country that charms all the senses. How lucky I am to discover it while being with you."
