After years of construction, the 7th Art Cinema in Rabat reopened its doors on Sunday, February 16. An emblematic landmark in the city center, the movie theater resumed service by offering one screening per day, showcasing 12 feature films from the official selection of the latest edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM 2024). Initiated by the Moroccan Cinematheque, this diverse «Rep-rise» program will run from the 16th to the 27th of this month. The opening film was Happy Holidays by Scandar Copti, Golden Star of the 21st edition of FIFM. This Monday, the screening will be The Across the Sea by Franco-Moroccan director Saïd Hamich Belarbi. Other works will follow, offering an opportunity to make this selection accessible to a broader audience while providing a window into world cinemas: Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Somalia, and more. As part of this program, the documentary The Thousand and One Days of Hajj Edmond by Simone Bitton will be screened on February 24, while Diaries from Lebanon by Myriam El Hajj will be screened on the 26th of this month. The launch of this cycle took place the day after the official inauguration of the Moroccan Cinematheque. The 7th Art Cinema is resuming service after several years of work on the theater, as well as on the entire pedestrian area between Allal Benabdellah Avenue and Mohammed V. In this context, the project notably allowed this site to regain its original appearance, after the demolition of the café added to it in 1997. This work was carried out in accordance with commitments made as part of Rabat's inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The mineral and green space behind the city's first courthouse have been restored to its original state.
