HRH Prince Moulay Rachid gives extraordinary rise to MIFF

Marrakech International Film Festival (MIFF) in full swing

Marrakech – Morocco, December 11, 2007 – His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, the heir to the Moroccan throne and President of the MIFF Foundation opened the 7the edition of MIFF in presentation full of elegance.

Director Martin Scorsese powered actor Leonardo DiCaprio with praise while presenting him an honorary award of the Marrakech International Film Festival.Kapur's "Elizabeth: The Golden Age", starring Cate Blanchett, was screened as the festival's opening film out of competition.

The several-day festival, known for its charismatic offerings, is the largest and most ambition in the region. It opened Friday and continues to December 15th 2007.

The perfect movies selection from all over the world honors Marrakech festival truthfully international character.

Apart from the films in the special selection, the seventh edition being held in the city of Marrakech also focuses on countries where filmmaking is still in its embryonic stage.

The Marrakech International Film Festival will see 110 films from 23 countries being screened.

Czech-born director Milos Forman, this year's chairman of the jury, declared the festival open in Czech, flanked by fellow jurors Moroccan filmmaker Hamid Bennani, Pavel Lounguine of Russia, Claude Miller of France and Britain's Shekar Kapur.

In contention for the festival's Golden Star award this year are 14 films, representing Algeria, Estonia, China, the Czech Republic, Finland, Japan, the Philippines, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Russia, Serbia, and the United States.Last year the Gold Star went to German film "Der Rote Kakadu" (The Red Cockatoo), directed by Dominik Graf.