Cannes – Moroccan film director Nabil Ayouch was awarded the 2012 François Chalais Prize for his feature movie ” Les Chevaux de Dieu”, organizers announced on Saturday on the sidelines of the Cannes international film festival.
The Francois Chalais Prize is awarded at the Cannes Film Festival since in 1997 in tribute to French journalist and film historian François Chalais.
les Chevaux de Dieu’, which is taking part in the official competition of the festival in Un Certain Regard section, is inspired from the 2003 attack that hit Casablanca. It tells the story of disenchanted young individuals who committed suicide bombing in the name of the religion, the Francois Chalais Prize Association said in a statement.
In his movie, Ayouch denounced the misery and abject conditions in slums, the Association said, adding that the film falls within the framework of the changes brought by the Arab Spring enabling an enlargement of the freedom of expression.
The Prize will be received by the Moroccan director on Saturday night.
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