MARRAKECH SHORT FILM FESTIVAL: AMANAR CLOSES ITS FIRST EDITION, THE WINNERS REVEALED
Marrakech, September 30, 2026— The sixth edition of the Marrakech Short Film Festival ended on Wednesday in Marrakech, after several days of screenings and meetings around the short film. This edition received nearly 400 films from 90 countries, giving rise to an international program and several professional meetings.
The day started with the closing of AMANAR, the new professional platform of the festival. For two days, 12 international professionals accompanied five Moroccan projects as part of the Development Lab. Three projects were awarded at the end of the pitch sessions: Fragments of an Ordinary Day by Zahra Berrada, winner of the ZINEBI Industry Award, Unsettled by Maria Dobli Bennani, who receives the Atlantis Studios Marrakech Post-production Award, and Preview by Saad Benidir, distinguished by the AMANAR Award for the best pitch.
The closing ceremony of the festival then unveiled the winners of this sixth edition, with prizes awarded to directors and films from Morocco and several countries.
Internationally, the Belarj Award for Best Director goes to Giacomo Bendotti for The Bridge (Italy), while the Nakhil Award for Best film goes to My Brother My Brother by Abderrahmane and Saad Dnewar (Egypt). A special mention was given to The Experiment by Maxim Akbarov (Kazakhstan), and the international jury’s favorite was What If They Bomb Us Tonight by Samir Syriani (Lebanon).
At the national level, the Belarj Award for Best Director rewarded Sanaa El Alaoui for Aicha. The Behja Award for Best actor/actress distinguished Sandie Tajdine for The Invisible Links, directed by Aymen Ben Slimane. The Nakhil Award for Best Film goes to Yassine Iguenfer’s Two Ways, while the national jury’s favorite was awarded to Hamza Atifi’s Phone Breaker.
The Menara Prize for the best documentary was awarded to Eiman Mirghani for Villa 187, while the favorite of the festival goes to Trading Cards by Radheya Jang (Australia).
This sixth edition will have confirmed the richness of the views gathered around the short film in Marrakech. The closing ceremony thus dedicated the works and the talents distinguished by the various juries, at the end of several days of screenings, meetings and exchanges around short cinema.