Marrakech Jury Named: Cotillard Leads Bang, Mackey, Krieps and More

Marion Cotillard will chair a Marrakech Film Festival jury that includes Claes Bang, Emma Mackey, Vicky Krieps, Gilles Lellouche, Kaouther Ben Hania, Andrew Haigh, Ramata-Toulaye Sy and Saïd Hamich Benlarbi. The eight-member jury will judge 14 films in competition and announce the winners of the Étoile d'Or (the festival's top prize) on Nov. 28, during the closing ceremony. The festival had already confirmed Cotillard's presidency.

Who sits on the jury?

The acting contingent spans four countries. Danish actor Claes Bang gained international recognition in Ruben Östlund's "The Square," which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Luxembourg's Vicky Krieps broke through opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Phantom Thread" and later received an award at Cannes for her performance in "Corsage."

Franco-British actor Emma Mackey, discovered in the series "Sex Education," went on to star in "Death on the Nile" and "Barbie," and will soon appear in Greta Gerwig's "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew." France's Gilles Lellouche made his name as an actor in "Little White Lies," "The Stronghold" and "All Your Faces," then moved behind the camera with "Sink or Swim" and "Beating Hearts" — both presented at Cannes.

The directors' bench is equally international:

• Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia): her "Four Daughters" and "The Voice of Hind Rajab" both earned Oscar nominations; she has turned the boundary between documentary and fiction into a realm of creativity.
• Andrew Haigh (UK): director of "45" and "All of Us Strangers," films that explore romantic intimacy and the weight of the past with rare sensitivity.
• Ramata-Toulaye Sy (France-Senegal): her debut feature "Banel & Adama," a tale of unconditional love with fairy-tale overtones, was selected for the main competition at Cannes.
• Saïd Hamich Benlarbi (Morocco): director and producer whose second feature, "Across the Sea," screened in the Marrakech competition in 2024. He returns this year as a juror.

What does this lineup change for the festival?

For the competing filmmakers, it means their fortunes rest with a jury that mixes A-list screen actors, Oscar-nominated documentarians and festival-circuit auteurs — a group with experience on both sides of the awards table. Benlarbi's presence gives the panel someone who knows the Marrakech competition from the inside, having presented his own film there just last year.

The composition also signals the festival's positioning: a bridge between European prestige cinema and North African and Middle Eastern filmmaking. Three of the eight jurors — Ben Hania, Sy and Benlarbi — have direct roots in the region.

All 14 competition titles will be judged before the jury delivers its verdict at the closing ceremony on Nov. 28.