‘The Debut’ to Open Marrakech Film Festival, With ‘Artificial’ and ‘Paper Tiger’ Among Gala Screenings

Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut,” starring Julianne Moore as a shy housewife who is cast in a community theater musical and transforms into a zealous Method actor, has been set as the opening film of the 23rd Marrakech International Film Festival.

Eisenberg and Moore are both expected to be on hand for the out-of-competition gala.

The fest, running from Nov. 20-28, will also feature the regional premiere of Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial,” which traces the rise of OpenAI founder Sam Altman (played by Andrew Garfield). Guadagnino is a Marrakech regular, as is James Gray, who will also be returning with his crime thriller “Paper Tiger” starring Adam Driver and Miles Teller.

Other Marrakech gala screenings include two world premieres: Brazilian director Fellipe Barbosa’s “Leila et la nuit,” inspired by the life of Moroccan photographer Leila Alaoui and starring Roschdy Zem and Marina Foïs; and Egyptian helmer Omar Hilal’s “His Weakest Creatures,” which pairs Egyptian stars Ahmed Helmy and Hend Sabry together on screen for the first time.

John Turturro will be making the trek to present Noah Segan’s “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” in which the actor delivers a standout performance as an aging pickpocket contending with the contemporary world. The section also includes Laïla Marrakchi’s “Strawberries,” which has been selected as Morocco’s Oscars entry and follows a group of Moroccan seasonal laborers hired to pick strawberries in Spain who decide to stand up to their abusive employers.