{"id":3971,"date":"2026-02-13T11:08:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T11:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/?p=3971"},"modified":"2026-02-13T17:25:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T17:25:49","slug":"cinema-as-a-tool-of-soft-power-morocco-as-guest-of-honor-at-berlinale-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/cinema-as-a-tool-of-soft-power-morocco-as-guest-of-honor-at-berlinale-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Cinema as a Tool of Soft Power: Morocco as Guest of Honor at Berlinale 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4379\" data-end=\"4739\">Morocco\u2019s participation as guest of honor at the <strong data-start=\"4428\" data-end=\"4469\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Berlin International Film Festival<\/span><\/span><\/strong> was not merely a ceremonial event within the usual cultural agenda, but a defining moment reflecting a clear shift in the state\u2019s perception of cinema: from a local artistic sector to a soft diplomacy lever, invested in repositioning Morocco on the global symbolic map.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4379\" data-end=\"4739\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"x1ejq31n x18oe1m7 x1sy0etr xstzfhl x6ikm8r x10wlt62\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FCCM.Morocco%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02FspY4PW18aTzuRrXM1EndamXxGtgmRWfGAQRkwHUdekjsBGzJHDU1Rvscm4f9cY1l&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"831\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4741\" data-end=\"5117\">The selection of the Kingdom as the \u201cpivot country\u201d within the <strong data-start=\"4804\" data-end=\"4847\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">European Film Market<\/span><\/span><\/strong> \u2013 the most important professional platform in Europe for the film industry \u2013 goes beyond symbolic recognition of Africa. It implicitly acknowledges Morocco\u2019s role as a cultural and geographic mediator between three strategic spheres: Africa, the Arab world, and Europe.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5119\" data-end=\"5167\">From \u201cFilming Location\u201d to \u201cNarrative Actor\u201d<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5169\" data-end=\"5578\">Historically, Morocco was primarily seen as an \u201copen natural studio\u201d: attractive shooting locations, skilled technical workforce, and costs lower than Europe or the U.S. But this participation reflects a conscious effort to shift from technical service provision to narrative power: Morocco becomes not just a filming site but an active participant in shaping, financing, and directing cinematic storytelling.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5580\" data-end=\"5990\">The inauguration at <strong data-start=\"5600\" data-end=\"5643\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Gropius Bau<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, attended by figures such as <strong data-start=\"5673\" data-end=\"5716\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Tricia Tuttle<\/span><\/span><\/strong> and <strong data-start=\"5721\" data-end=\"5764\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Tanja Meissner<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, alongside Morocco\u2019s ambassador <strong data-start=\"5797\" data-end=\"5840\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Zohour Alawi<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, was not merely ceremonial but carefully staged to project an image: Morocco as a cultural hub rather than a marginal state in the production market.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5992\" data-end=\"6046\">Apparent: Infrastructure and Cultural Investment<\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6047\" data-end=\"6088\">Implied: Reframing the National Image<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6090\" data-end=\"6462\">The official discourse emphasized familiar elements: quality infrastructure, competence of Moroccan technicians, dynamic co-productions, and the support of the <strong data-start=\"6250\" data-end=\"6293\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Moroccan Film Center<\/span><\/span><\/strong>. Yet this international momentum raises a strategic question: how can culture be leveraged to reinforce Morocco\u2019s image while consolidating the national film ecosystem?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6464\" data-end=\"6849\">In a world where \u201cinternational reputation\u201d is a capital in itself, military or economic power alone is insufficient. Cinema plays a multifaceted role: enhancing image, redefining identity, and exporting the model of a \u201cstable, open, multicultural Morocco.\u201d The real challenge lies in turning this international recognition into a sustainable boost for the domestic cultural landscape.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"6851\" data-end=\"7231\">Thus, it remains essential to continue strengthening Moroccan film distribution networks, modernizing theaters, expanding audiences, supporting emerging creators and technicians, and bridging the gap between Morocco\u2019s growing international presence and its local cultural embedding. Soft power in culture reaches its full potential when it benefits the national audience directly.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"7233\" data-end=\"7286\">Recovering Memory: \u201cAl-Sarab\u201d as a Double Message<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"7288\" data-end=\"7700\">The selection of <strong data-start=\"7305\" data-end=\"7348\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Al-Sarab<\/span><\/span><\/strong> by director <strong data-start=\"7361\" data-end=\"7404\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Ahmed Bouanani<\/span><\/span><\/strong> in the Berlinale Classics section is far from an innocent technical detail. It conveys a double message: internationally, Morocco has a cinematic heritage worthy of restoration and global display; domestically, it restores recognition to pioneers long marginalized by national cultural policies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"7702\" data-end=\"7953\">Cinematic memory thus becomes part of diplomacy itself: investing in the past to produce symbolic legitimacy in the present, and fostering an active cultural citizenship that balances Morocco\u2019s global image with the role of cinema in Moroccan society.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Morocco\u2019s participation as guest of honor at the Berlin International Film Festival was not merely a ceremonial event within the usual cultural agenda, but a defining moment reflecting a clear shift in the state\u2019s perception of cinema: from a local artistic sector to a soft diplomacy lever, invested in repositioning Morocco on the global symbolic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[112],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3971","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cinema-diplomacy-cultural-diplomacy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3973,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3971\/revisions\/3973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}