Sean Penn, Tim Burton, Alfonso Cuaron, Justine Triet, Ava DuVernay, David Cronenberg, Todd Haynes to Participate in Marrakech Festival Conversations

A sprawling lineup of filmmakers, including Sean Penn, Tim Burton, Alfonso Cuaron, Justine Triet, Ava DuVernay and David Cronenberg will attend the Marrakech Film Festival and take part in conversations in front of audiences.

In total, 18 directors, actors, screenwriters and producers from six continents will participate in on-stage discussions to reflect on their craft, lives and careers at the festival, which kicks off Nov. 29 and runs until Dec. 7.

Surpassing the talent roster of major international festivals such as Cannes or Venise, this year’s Marrakech conversations program will also includes Iranian director, screenwriter and producer Mohammad Rasoulof; Australian director and screenwriter Justin Kurzel; French director and screenwriter François Ozon; British actor Gemma Arterton; Brazilian director and screenwriter Walter Salles; Russian director and screenwriter Kirill Serebrennikov; Mauritanian director and screenwriter Abderrahmane Sissako (“Timbuktu”); Moroccan filmmakers Alaa Eddine Aljem (“The Unknown Saint”), Yasmine Benkiran (“Queens”), Ismaël El Iraki (“Zanka Contact”) and Kamal Lazraq (“Hounds”). Each day will host two masterclasses.

Among the guests, Burton is having a career revival with his latest movie “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” which has been critically lauded and has so far reached a whooping $450.7 million worldwide; Triet is rolling off her Palme d’Or, Oscar-winning film “Anatomy of a Fall;” Haynes last directed the Oscar-nominated, Cannes premiering “May December;” DuVernay made her latest directorial effort with “Origin” which competed at Venice; Penn was last involved (producing and starring) in the satirical series “C*A*U*G*H*T; Cuaron recently made a splash with his limited Apple series “Disclaimer” which premiered at Venice; Serebrennikov presented “Limonov: The Ballad” at this year’s Cannes, alongside Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds;” and Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” which won both the special jury prize and FIPRESCI. “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Germany’s Oscar candidate, is also seen as a frontrunner for the international feature film category. Salles presented “I’m Still Here” at Venice this year, as well as Kurzel with “The Order,” starring Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult and Tye Sheridan. “The Order” will now be opening the Marrakech Film Festival.

Spearheaded by French powerhouse Melita Toscan du Plantier, who has been involved in the festival since its inception, the upcoming edition will also boast Luca Guadagnino as jury president. He will be joined by a top notch roster of fellow jurors comprising: Iranian director Ali Abbasi; Indian director Zoya Akhtar; American actor Patricia Arquette; Belgian actor Virginie Efira; Australian actor Jacob Elordi; British-American actor Andrew Garfield; Moroccan actor Nadia Kounda, and Argentine director Santiago Mitre.

While this Marrakech edition will reach a milestone in terms of starry guests, previous years have also stood out, for instance in 2018, when Martin Scorsese attended alongside Robert de Niro, Guillermo Del Toro and Agnes Varda.