{"id":189036,"date":"2025-10-28T17:43:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T16:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/?p=189036"},"modified":"2025-10-28T17:43:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T16:43:33","slug":"when-africa-films-its-future-through-womens-voices-away-ten-new-voices-of-african-cinema-premiere-their-films-at-the-rabat-cinematheque","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/?p=189036&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"When Africa Films Its Future Through Women\u2019s Voices: AWAY, Ten New Voices of African Cinema Premiere Their Films at the Rabat Cinematheque"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Casablanca, 27 October 2025 \u2013 This evening, the Rabat Cinematheque hosted the closing ceremony of the pan-African AYWA (African Young Women in Action) residency. Over six weeks, between Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech, ten young filmmakers from the five sub-regions of Africa took on a rare challenge: starting from a blank page to write, shoot and complete a short film under professional conditions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The result: ten original films, ten unique voices, brought together for the first time before the public and the press.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A Unique Creative Laboratory in Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Selected from over 400 applications, the participants took part in an intensive programme that included:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Writing and development (synopsis, script, storyboard, casting, location scouting),<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Professional shooting, supported by experienced technical crews,<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Post-production (editing, sound, mixing, colour grading) under tight deadlines.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>These short films will together form a pan-African anthology series, driven by women\u2019s perspectives \u2014 navigating heritage, personal revolutions, and contemporary imaginations.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A Closing Ceremony Under the Banner of Sharing and Transmission<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The closing evening took place at the Rabat Cinematheque in the presence of the ten filmmakers, Hicham Lasri, the main mentor of the programme, Lamia Chraibi, President of the Tamayouz Cinema Foundation, as well as representatives of UNESCO and institutional and private partners.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In front of an audience made up of media professionals, audiovisual industry figures, diplomats and cultural institutions, the short films were screened for the very first time.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The room resonated with emotions, discussions and exchanges between the filmmakers and the guests, confirming AYWA as not only a space for cinema, but also one of dialogue, boldness and transmission.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Statement by Hicham Lasri \u2013 Lead Mentor of the Residency<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/agadirtoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/agadirtoday.com-2025-10-28_17-42-36_427140.jpeg?ssl=1\"><img data-attachment-id=\"189037\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/?attachment_id=189037\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/agadirtoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/agadirtoday.com-2025-10-28_17-42-36_427140.jpeg?fit=600%2C366&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"600,366\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Lauri Niittymaki&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 5D Mark IV&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1761597108&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;All rights reserved&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;57&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.02&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Aywa &#8211; C\u00e9r\u00e9monie de cl\u00f4ture (1)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/agadirtoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/agadirtoday.com-2025-10-28_17-42-36_427140.jpeg?fit=300%2C183&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/agadirtoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/agadirtoday.com-2025-10-28_17-42-36_427140.jpeg?fit=600%2C366&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-189037\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/agadirtoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/agadirtoday.com-2025-10-28_17-42-36_427140.jpeg?resize=498%2C304&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"498\" height=\"304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/agadirtoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/agadirtoday.com-2025-10-28_17-42-36_427140.jpeg?w=600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/agadirtoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/agadirtoday.com-2025-10-28_17-42-36_427140.jpeg?resize=300%2C183&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" title=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><\/a>\u00ab AYWA was born from a desire to reinvent what a residency can be: to start from a strong idea, support young African filmmakers\u2014selected from more than 400 applicants\u2014and guide them from a blank page to a completed film in just six weeks. The first two weeks were the most demanding \u2014 writing, structuring, learning tools that normally take years to master. Then came the challenge of shooting, that moment when you must direct, decide, and hold steady despite the stress and the lack of time. Finally, during post-production, they discovered the power of editing, sound, and image \u2014 with remarkable maturity. Watching these voices emerge, these films take shape, and this solidarity between them grow is proof that another kind of African cinema is possible \u2014 bold, rigorous, and deeply human. \u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Statement by Lamia Chraibi \u2013 President of the Tamayouz Cinema Foundation &amp; Founder of the AYWA Programme<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab With AYWA, we wanted to offer these filmmakers comprehensive support \u2014 from writing to post-production \u2014 while giving them the means to express their individuality. This programme was born from a conviction: we are the ones best placed to tell our realities, our stories, our cultures. AYWA is not just a residency; it is a platform to bring new voices to light, to build bridges between emerging talents and industry professionals, and to affirm that Africa can produce a cinema that is free, ambitious, and authentic. \u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Participant Testimonials<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Wissal Jabri (Morocco)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cGetting to know different cultures and being inspired by their stories and heritage was eye-opening. AYWA pushed me out of my comfort zone and led me to create a film far from my usual style. It has made me rethink my future with more clarity and ambition.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Abigail Kelapile (Botswana)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cLearning how a story evolves from a simple idea to a complete script changed everything for me. Here, mentors don\u2019t just correct you \u2014 they challenge you. It forces you to understand why you are telling this story, not just how. Working with other filmmakers across Africa opened new paths, especially for future documentary projects.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Official Partners<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>AYWA is an initiative led by the Tamayouz Cinema Foundation, in partnership with UNESCO, with the support of the People\u2019s Republic of China, the Story School of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Intelcia, Digital Factory and LaProd.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Contacts presse<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Khadija Smiri<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>0660879335<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"mailto:smirikhadija@gmail.com\">smirikhadija@gmail.com<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Casablanca, 27 October 2025 \u2013 This evening, the Rabat Cinematheque hosted the closing ceremony of the pan-African AYWA (African Young Women in Action) residency. Over six weeks, between Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech, ten young filmmakers from the five sub-regions of Africa took on a rare challenge: starting from a blank page to write, shoot and &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":189038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAowteS_DA:productID":"","footnotes":"","iawp_total_views":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[16703],"tags":[41297],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"lang":"en","translations":{"en":189036},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/agadirtoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/agadirtoday.com-2025-10-28_17-42-38_285754.jpeg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peJLke-NaY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"pll_sync_post":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189036"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=189036"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":189039,"href":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189036\/revisions\/189039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/189038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=189036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=189036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agadirtoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=189036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}