Martin Scorsese Skips Marrakech Film Festival

The New York Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review may have anointed Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” the top film of 2023, but the Best Coast, er, West Coast has a different view. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association selected Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” as their Best Film of 2023.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. “Poor Things” is seducing you with a variety of charming, stylish and tasty partnerships this week alongside its theatrical release on Dec.

Martin Scorsese‘s Western historical epic Killers of the Flower Moon on Wednesday was named Best Film by the National Board of Review, the second major awards honor for the Apple Original Films pic this week after it also won the top prize from the New York Film Critics Circle.

The New York Film Critics Circle anointed “Killers of the Flower Moon” as their Best Film of 2023 and now the National Board of Review has revealed their top pick, and, surprise, it’s also Martin Scorsese’s latest. Scorsese was also named Best Director and Lily Gladstone Best Actress by the New York City-based cinephile organization.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, a day before the National Board of Review will weigh in on its selections for the best films and performances of 2023. They’ll be following the New York Film Critics Circle who kicked off the season last week by crowning Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” as its top choice. Its West Coast counterpart, Los Angeles Film Critics, will drop their choices on Sunday.

Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed Killers of the Flower Moon will become available on premium video-on-demand and for digital purchase beginning tomorrow, Dec. 5, in over 100 countries before streaming globally on Apple TV+, Apple Original Films announced today

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. After debuting at Cannes Film Festival and then hitting theaters in October, Martin Scorsese‘s star-studded crime epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” will be available to purchase on digital and on-demand streaming beginning Tuesday, Dec. 5.

Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir has made history at the 20th edition of Morocco’s Marrakech Film Festival as the first local director to win its top prize with her hybrid documentary The Mother Of All Lies.

The Marrakech Film Festival celebrated its 20th edition this year, arriving at the landmark some 22 years after its 2001 launch due to the missed years of the pandemic.

The New York Film Critics Circle kicked off the annual year-end deluge of critics’ honors by announcing their best of 2023 today and the big winner was Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of The Flower Moon” which took Best Film. Christopher Nolan won Best Director for “Oppenheimer” while Celine Song’s “Past Lives” won Best First Film.

Ben Croll The Marrakech Film Festival’s industry-focused Atlas Workshops will complement its existing support for development and production with the Atlas Distribution Award – a brand-new initiative meant to fuel wider domestic and international distribution for the Moroccan, Arab and Pan-African films presented at the festival. Taking inspiration from similar European schemes, the Marrakech Foundation will offer financial incentives to regional distributors releasing festival-selected titles.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Oscar season begins this week in the Big Apple. The New York Film Critics Circle will be the first major group of film journalists to unveil its winners on Nov. 30.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Melita Toscan du Plantier has been the driving force behind the Marrakech Film Festival ever since her late husband, revered French producer Daniel Toscan du Plantier, wrote to Morocco’s king two decades ago expressing “his ambition for a big international festival in Morocco,” as she recounts. The festival’s 20th edition is currently underway in the ancient Moroccan city, despite the Israel-Hamas conflict that has caused cancellations of several other fests in the region as well as the earthquake that hit the country in September.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent After skipping Venice due to the actors’ strike, a busy Willem Dafoe is back on the festival trail, attending the 20th edition of the Marrakech Film Festival with his wife, filmmaker and actor Giada Colagrande. He spoke to Variety about his ties to Morocco, why he’s “happy to be promoting and starting to work again” now that the strike is over, and his role in Tim Burton’s upcoming “Beetlejuice 2.” How does it feel to be back in Marrakech? I’m happy to be back. Morocco for me is “The Last Temptation of Christ,” a film that was a beautiful experience.

Jessica Chastain and Tilda Swinton provided the ultimate study in contrast while attending the second day of the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival on Saturday (November 25) in Marrakech, Morocco.

Ben Croll Martin Scorsese will no longer attend nor participate in the Marrakech Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops, citing personal reasons. The award-winning filmmaker was slated to serve as artistic godfather for Marrakech’s industry arm, which spotlights development titles and works-in-progress from dynamic new talents from across the MENA world.

The stars are stepping out in Morocco!

Martin Scorsese has cancelled his trip to the Marrakech International Film Festival at the eleventh hour, which he was due to attend as the special honorary guest of its 20th edition.

Ben Croll This year’s Marrakech International Film Festival opened with a testament to art. Two months after a devastating earthquake, and in light of the ever-more heart-wrenching news coming out of the Middle East, the film showcase kicked off with a humanist rallying cry voiced by jury president Jessica Chastain. “In the weeks leading up to the festival, we were not sure that we would even be able to be here,” Chastain said at the Marrakech opening ceremony on Friday.

Jessica Chastain, resplendent in a shimmering silver tasseled jump suit, championed the power of art to bring about positive change at the opening night of the Marrakech Film Festival on Friday evening.