"This festival, dedicated to cinema promotion in Mediterranean countries, is one of the most prominent film events in Italy," said Morocco's ambassador to Italy, Youssef Balla, at a press conference dedicated to the presentation of the 2021 edition.

Morocco is always delighted to participate in the events that celebrate artistic expressions' diversity and the Mediterranean region's common heritage, said the Moroccan diplomat.

The participation of the Kingdom will allow the Italian public to discover the diversity of Moroccan cinema, whose production has increased significantly over the past two decades, said Balla.

He also noted that Moroccan films, leading the national box office, are often selected to participate in prestigious international festivals, including those of Cannes and Berlin.

The film "Casablanca Beats", by Morocco's Nabil Ayouch, will be in the official competition of the festival. This feature film, chosen to represent Morocco in the 2022 Oscars' shortlists, won the prize for positive cinema at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

For their part, the films "Jmar" by Samy Sidali and "Le Départ" by Said Hamich Benlarbi will compete for the international short film award. In addition, several Moroccan films will be screened throughout the festival.