Nisrin Erradi, who plays Touda, revealed that she fully immersed herself in the role, which deeply moved her. So much so that she declined other projects for two years, focusing solely on Touda.

The Marrakech International Film Festival has bestowed its top prize on “Happy Holidays,” a Palestinian drama set in Israel whose screenplay won an award at the Venice Film Festival in September.

The Jury Prize was awarded ex aequo to Argentinian director Silvina Schnicer’s The Cottage and Somali and Austrian filmmaker Mo Harawe’s The Village Next to Paradise. Damian Kocur won the Best Directing Prize for his Under the Volcano, which is Poland’s Oscar entry this year.

One of the Middle East and North Africa’s largest film festivals is openiong in Morocco, drawing actors and directors from throughout the world to present 70 features from 32 countries.