Tétouan festival featuring Palestinian films opens for 31st time

The 31st Tétouan Mediterranean Film Festival opened in Morocco’s northern city of Tétouan with the participation of Türkiye and Palestine. Ten films from nine countries will compete at the festival.

Scraper SystemOctober 04, 2026, 12:14 PM

Tétouan festival featuring Palestinian films opens for 31st time

The 31st Tétouan Mediterranean Film Festival, bringing together filmmakers from Mediterranean countries including Türkiye and Palestine, opened in Morocco’s northern city of Tétouan. Countries from across the Mediterranean region took part in the opening ceremony held on Saturday evening.

The ceremony also featured Inzıyah, a creative performance directed by Moroccan theater artist Yasin Ahcam.

Ten films from nine countries to compete

Ten films from Türkiye, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Portugal, France, Palestine, Tunisia and Morocco will compete in the festival’s feature-film category.

The auditorium of Tétouan’s historic Español Cinema (archive)

Sherafat Efilal, president of the Tétouan Mediterranean Film Festival Foundation, described the event as the oldest national cinema window opening onto the Mediterranean. Efilal said the festival aims to turn cinema into a platform that strengthens coexistence and tolerance across the Mediterranean.

A view of Tétouan near the medina and the town (archive)

Efilal said Mediterranean cinema has long faced major production challenges and distribution limitations, adding that art—particularly cinema—is the strongest language for defending tolerance, coexistence and human values.

Festival to continue until October 10

The event, which will continue until October 10, will address the challenges facing Mediterranean cinema and the transformation it has undergone. Alongside film screenings, the program will include talks and workshops dedicated to these issues.