Academy Award-winning Danish director Thomas Vinterberg will chair the jury of the 21st Marrakech International Film Festival, which takes place from November 29th to December 7th, 2024.

The jury will award the Étoile d'Or to one of the 14 first and second features in the festival’s international competition, which is dedicated to the discovery of filmmakers from around the world.

“It’s a great privilege and an honor to have received the noble invitation from Marrakech International Film Festival to preside over the jury. In this rapidly changing and increasingly divided world, festivals such as Marrakech provide a much-needed window into a wide variety of cultures. Films can describe what cannot be explained. Make us understand the unacceptable. And there is indeed a lot to understand right now,” said Vinterberg when accepting the role as Jury President.

Since his remarkable entry onto the world cinema stage with The Celebration (1998), for which he won the Jury Prize at the Festival de Cannes when he was just 28, Thomas Vinterberg has become one of the most celebrated European filmmakers of our time. The author of a daring body of work that questions and exposes the darker side of human nature, Vinterberg reinvents himself and surprises audiences with each of his films.

Born in 1969, Vinterberg is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker based in Copenhagen. He was nominated for the Oscar for Best Director for Another Round (2020), the first Danish filmmaker ever to receive this honor. He went on to win an Oscar, a BAFTA, a César, and four European Film Awards for the blockbuster drama, which had its premiere in Cannes and later screened at the Toronto and San Sebastián International Film Festivals.

Vinterberg trained at the Danish National Film School. In 1993, his graduation short film, Last Round, won numerous awards and was nominated for a Student Academy Award. He went on to make the short The Boy Who Walked (1995), which won several audience awards, notably at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. He made his feature-length directorial debut with The Biggest Heroes in 1996.

In 1995, Vinterberg and Lars von Trier wrote the Dogme95 Manifesto. In 1998, Vinterberg directed The Celebration, the first film of this movement. The film was awarded the Special Jury Prize in Cannes, the Fassbinder Award at the European Film Awards, and Best Foreign Language Film by both the Los Angeles Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle, as well as numerous other prizes worldwide. In 2008, Vinterberg and von Trier, together with their “Dogme brothers” Kristian Levring and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, received the Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema at the European Film Awards.

Vinterberg directed the critically acclaimed English-language films It’s All About Love (2003), starring Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes, and Sean Penn, and Dear Wendy (2005), written by Lars von Trier and starring Jamie Bell. He returned to Danish-language films with When a Man Comes Home (2007) and Submarino (2010), the latter of which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and was awarded the Nordic Council Film Prize.

In 2012, he directed The Hunt, starring Mads Mikkelsen, which was nominated for an Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and went on to win the British Independent Film Award for Best International Independent Film. Mikkelsen won the Best Actor Award in Cannes for

IFFI 2024, 12: Creative Minds of tomorrow, and their five outstanding films

Creative Minds of Tomorrow (CMOT) is a platform designed to showcase the work of absolute beginners with enhanced to support 100 young talents, up from 75 in previous editions

The number of participants in this section are a full 100. Last year, 75 young talents were picked, to co-incide with the 75 years of Independence. Five CMOT Champions are being will be recognised for their exceptional journeys. As the largest fully supported platform of its kind, CMOT promotes interaction, engagement, and learning, among emerging creators and industry veterans. This year’s CMOT program boasts a significant expansion, welcoming 100 young talents across 13 film-making trades. 

From humble beginnings to global acclaim, CMOT alumni have scripted stories of success that resonate beyond borders. Be it contributing to humungous dollars Hollywood blockbusters, like Dune, Nimona and Meg 2, or winning accolades at Cannes, Toronto, Berlinale and the International Emmy Awards. These visionaries have left an indelible mark on the creative landscape, solidifying their presence on the global stage.

This year, IFFI pays tribute to five outstanding CMOT Champions whose journeys exemplify determination, creativity, and excellence. And they are:

Chidananda S. Naik – Awarded at Cannes.

Subarna Das – Projects premiered at TIFF, SXSW, and Berlinale.

Akshita Vohra – Acclaimed for award-winning projects.

Akhil Damodar Lotlikar – Selected in multiple international film festivals.

Krishna Dusane – Part of international successes.

These trailblazers will mentor five CMOT teams during the short filmmaking challenge at IFFI, sharing insights from their inspirational journeys.

A Platform for Emerging Creatives

Since its inception, this groundbreaking initiative has attracted 225 young creative talents from every corner of India, including the Northeast Indian States and Jammu & Kashmir. As the largest fully-supported platform of its kind globally, it stands as a testament to India's commitment to nurturing the next generation of cinematic storytellers.

Selecting the 100 Creative Minds

This year, CMOT received an overwhelming response with around 1,070 entries across 13 different film crafts from all corners of India, including states like Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Union Territories such as Pondicherry, Lakshadweep, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The highest number of entries came from the Direction category, followed by Hair & Make-Up and Cinematography.

The selection process involved a two-step evaluation:

Selection Jury: Award-winning film industry professionals reviewed all entries, including short films, show reels, portfolios, and music files, narrowing down the pool to just over 300 top entries across categories.

Grand Jury: Featuring film industry stalwarts and veterans, the Grand Jury meticulously evaluated the shortlisted applications to select the final 100 participants across all filmmaking trades.

Expanded Filmmaking Trades

Breaking new ground, CMOT 2024 broadens its horizons with a focus on 13 dynamic filmmaking trades, including the newly introduced Voice Over/Dubbing category and a standalone Hair & Makeup section. The program now encompasses:

Direction

Acting

Cinematography

Editing & Subtitling

Scriptwriting

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Supported by the Top 51 World Filmmakers Club

Ahead of the 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards Ceremony on Saturday 30 November at The Langham, Gold Coast, the Asia Pacific Screen Academy, in partnership with Jewel Private Residences, is proud to announce the winners of three special awards. These awards, presented by the soon-to-launch Top 51 World Filmmakers Club, celebrate cinematic excellence, support emerging talent, and promote cultural diversity.

Awarded for an outstanding debut or sophomore performance, this year’s Best New Performer is Data Chachua, for his remarkable role in Panopticon (Georgia, France, Italy, Romania). Chachua’s portrayal of an introverted teen caught between his radicalised friend and his mother has been widely praised, marking an impressive feature film debut following his work on stage and television.

Data Chachua will participate in the Asia Pacific Screen Forum event Reel Connections presented by Essential Screen Skills (Thursday 28 Nov).