According to sources within the organization cited by the news agency Efe, the cancellation of Scorsese’s presence, aged 81, was due to personal reasons. Scorsese participated in the Moroccan event five times, reaching, in 2018, to present an honorary prize to Robert de Niro, an actor with whom he has a history of collaborations.Scorsese would, in this 20th edition of the festival, be the patron of Ateliers Atlas, dedicated to developing the talent of young African and Arab directors.The festival began on Friday with a gala that featured a tribute to the Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and the presentation of the jury, chaired by the American actress Jessica Chastain. Scorsese, considered one of the greatest and most influential directors of contemporary cinema, has films such as “Taxi” on his CV. Driver” (1976), “All Good Guys” (1990), “Raging Bull” (1981), “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013) or “Gangs of New York” (2002), and “Between Enemies” (2006), the latter of which earned him Oscars for best film and best director. His most recent film, “Killers of the Flower Moon”, released last month, tells the true story of the Osage nation, in Oklahoma. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Lily Gladstone and Jesse Plemons, the production shows how the Osage indigenous tribe, who became millionaires after finding oil on their reservation, were the target of multiple murders and a conspiracy to take away their properties.“ What I wanted to capture was the nature of cancer that created a sensation of slow genocide”, said director Martin Scorsese, at a press conference in Los Angeles for the release of the feature film. for cinemas, the script for Apple’s original film is based on the book with the same title, published in 2017 by American journalist David Grann.
Martin Scorsese cancels festival appearance in Morocco for personal reasons
