Sean Penn, David Cronenberg, Naïma Elmcherqui Set For Marrakech Honors

Sean Penn, David Cronenberg and late great Moroccan actor Naïma Elmcherqui are set to be celebrated with career tributes by the Marrakech International Film Festival.

Elmcherqui, who was one of Morocco’s best-loved personalities, died in Casablanca on Oct. 5. After becoming a household name during the 1960s and 70s working with Moroccan theatre director and dramatist Tayeb Seddiki she soared on the big-screen in movies such as Souheil Ben Barka’s “Blood Wedding” (1977), which was Morocco’s first submission for the international Oscar;  Mohamed Abderrahman Tazi’s female empowerment drama “Badis” (1989); and, more recently Mohamed Mouftakir’s “The Fall of Apple Trees,” her final film role, for which Elmcherqui won the best actress prize at Sweden’s Malmö Arab Film Festival.

Elmcherqui – who was a member of the board of the foundation that oversees the Marrakech fest – had also appeared in a slew of soaps and Moroccan TV movies that boosted boosted her popularity.

“Elmcherqui was a true grande dame. Her departure leaves a void in the national cultural landscape,” the Marrakech fest said in a statement. “With this posthumous tribute, the festival honors the memory of an exceptional artist and deeply devoted woman who leaves behind a remarkably rich body of work,” it added.

Penn, who is a two-time Oscar winner, for “Milk” and “Mystic River,” more recently co-directed the Ukraine doc “Superpower” and will soon be seen in anthology film “War Through the Eyes of Animals” whose main protagonists are animals suffering from the terrible Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The event’s homage marks Penn’s first appearance at the Marrakech International Film Festival and his first visit to Morocco, organisers said in a statement.

It will also be a first for Cronenberg, whose vast filmography of edgy films such as “Videodrome,” “Dead Ringers,” “A History of Violence,”  “eXistenZ,” “Cosmopolis,” and “Maps to the Stars” – to name a few – have made him an undisputed cult master, was recently in Cannes with “The Shrouds” about a widower who invents technology to see inside his late wife’s grave.

“I’ve been hearing for years how wonderful the Marrakech International Film Festival is,” the Canadian horror auteur said in the statement. “And now the stars have finally aligned and I am here—not, amazingly, just to experience the festival, but to receive this prestigious and lovely award for my half century of work. What a delight and what an honor!,” Cronenberg added.

The 21st edition of the fest is set to run Nov. 29 to Dec. 7 in the ancient Moroccan city.