The European Film Market (EFM) has announced that Morocco will be the Country in Focus at the 2026 Berlinale, running February 12–18, 2026. The initiative, launched in 2017, highlights a different film region each year and has previously featured Mexico, Canada, Norway, Chile, the Baltic States, Italy, and Spain.
According to the Berlinale, Morocco’s selection recognizes both its established cinematic tradition and its growing role as a production and training hub connecting Africa, the Arab world, and Europe.
The press release cites Morocco’s “rich cinematic heritage” and notes the global reach of filmmakers including Nabil Ayouch, Faouzi Bensaïdi, Asmae El Moudir, Halima Ouardiri, and Maryam Touzani. Festival Director Tricia Tuttle described Moroccan cinema as rooted in history yet engaged with contemporary realities, while Berlinale Pro Director Tanja Meissner emphasized its professional infrastructure and openness to collaboration.
That infrastructure is anchored by the Centre Cinématographique Marocain (CCM), which administers a 30 percent cash rebate for foreign productions and maintains co-production agreements with several European countries, including France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and Germany.
Morocco’s national film ecosystem has also expanded in recent years through the Ateliers de l’Atlas, now reorganized as Atlas Programs, a suite that includes Atlas Workshops, Atlas Distribution Meetings, Atlas Station, and Atlas Press. The 2025 Atlas Distribution Meetings, held in Marrakech, brought together more than 60 distributors from Africa, the Arab world, and Europe, strengthening regional collaboration and market access.
In a statement, CCM Director Mohammad-Reda Benjelloun called the Berlinale recognition “a testament to how culture and coexistence nurture an art form and a language that have become truly universal: cinema.”
Continuity and Context
Morocco’s designation at the EFM follows a series of high-profile visibility initiatives, as captured on this platform, that began earlier this year. In September, Morocco served as Focus Country at Venice Production Bridge 2025, with official participation across Final Cut, Gap-Financing, Book Adaptation Rights, and industry meetings led by the CCM.
The Atlas Programs overhaul announced in September positions Marrakech as a regional hub for co-production, distribution, and criticism.
The upcoming Berlin focus completes a continuum of institutional recognition extending from Venice to Berlin within one cycle.
These international platforms align with Morocco’s broader policy of developing sustained co-production partnerships and formalized regional training initiatives, rather than short-term project visibility.
For the EFM, Morocco’s selection adds another layer to the Berlinale’s 2026 African presence, following this month’s announcements of the Toolbox Distribution Academy and the World Cinema Fund’s latest African grantees, and the appointment of Sata Cissokho as the new head of World Cinema Fund and Toolbox.
Collectively, they cross the distribution, production, and policy ends of the professional spectrum.
For Morocco, the infrastructure exists: co-production treaties, rebate incentives, and professional platforms built to sustain exchange. Attention now turns to expanding their reach and resilience, building on the momentum in 2026 and beyond.