Rabat Auteur Film Festival 2026: Jennifer Alleyn's "Kairos" wins the Hassan II Grand Prize
Canadian film "Kairos" by Jennifer Alleyn takes home three awards at the 31st Rabat International Auteur Film Festival: the Hassan II Grand Prize, best director and best screenplay.
The 31st Rabat International Auteur Film Festival (FICAR) has wrapped up with its awards ceremony at the Mohammed V National Theatre. The big winner is "Kairos," by Canadian director Jennifer Alleyn, which takes the Hassan II Grand Prize, best director and best screenplay.
"Kairos" follows Manu, an actor who comes home after a year abroad and struggles to restart his career. Led by Emmanuel Schwartz, the film closed the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma in April.
Best actress goes to Yuki Katayama for "Fujiko," by Japanese director Taichi Kimura. Inspired by the life of the director's mother, the film casts her as a single mother in late-1970s Japan. Italian actor Valerio Mastandrea wins best actor for "Armony," by Dario Albertini, which screened on the Piazza Grande at the Locarno Film Festival.
The Special Jury Prize goes to "Yunan," by Ameer Fakher Eldin, which competed at the Berlinale in 2025. The audience, for its part, chose "Monologue," by Assan Tamaev (Russia).
In the documentary competition, the Grand Prize goes to "Souraya Mon Amour," by Lebanese director Nicolas Khoury, a portrait of dancer and actress Souraya Baghdadi and her husband, filmmaker Maroun Baghdadi. The Jury Prize goes to "Are You Mostafa?," by Iranian Baktash Abtin, a poet and filmmaker who died in prison in January 2022.
Among the short films, best Moroccan short goes to "You Are Seen," by Zakaria Dinia. Best experimental short goes to "L'Mina," by French-Moroccan artist Randa Maroufi, shot in Jerada with the town's residents. Best fiction short goes to "What If They Bomb Here Tonight?," by Lebanese director Samir Syriani, with a special mention for "Touch."
Best animated short goes to "Because Today Is Saturday," by Portuguese director Alice Eça Guimarães, and best short documentary to "Fruits of Despair," by Iranian director Nima Nassaj, with a special mention for "Voices from the Abyss."
More than 120 films were programmed for this edition of the festival, founded in 1994.
The official awards announcement: the festival's Facebook page
