November's programme at the Three Cultures Foundation features Morocco and its cultural diversity

The Three Cultures Foundation of the Mediterranean presents tomorrow (at 18:00), at the Seville Book Fair, its tribute to the Moroccan writer Mohamed Chukri, one of the most representative pens of Maghrebi literature, whose work has been discussed on numerous occasions at this institution and whose 20th anniversary of his death will be celebrated this year.

The author of such harrowing works as the trilogy of his own life (El pan a secas in 1973, Tiempo de errores in 1992 and Rostros, amores, maldiciones in 1996), his experiences form an indisputable part of his prose; hence both his figure and his literature will be discussed at this round table with the writer Rocío Rojas-Marcos and the translator Malika Embarek López, winner of the National Prize for the Work of a Translator.

This literary proposal marks the beginning of the intense programme of activities that the Three Cultures Foundation is dedicating to Morocco throughout the month of November, which will offer a complete vision of this country from numerous perspectives.

In the cinematographic section, the films En tus ojos veo mi país (In your eyes I see my country) (7 November at 20:30) will be shown in a special session with the participation of its director, Kamal Hachkar; and the documentary Hijos de al-Ándalus (Children of al-Andalus) (14 November at 20:30). 

On 28 November at the same time, in collaboration with the AKIDA International Film Festival, a selection of four short films seen in this competition, directed by three Moroccan directors (Anas Zemati, Ali Boudra, Saad Benidir) and the Spaniard Guillermo Cabot, will be screened. In addition, well-known actors who will travel from Morocco, such as Salwa Zarhane and Mehdi Foulane, will participate, along with Moroccan actors living in Madrid, Bouchra Bouafia and Hicham Malayo. This session of short films will also be part of the events to be held in different countries of the Mediterranean basin on the 28th on the occasion of Mediterranean Day, a date agreed upon by the 42 member states of the Union for the Mediterranean in the year 2020.

The following day (29th at 20:00), the Foundation will organise a colloquium on the Moroccan film industry with El Arbi El Harti, writer, playwright and professor of Spanish and Latin American literature at the Mohammed V University in Rabat, considered to be one of the most important activists specialising in intercultural dialogue in the country. He will be joined by Bruno Smadja, founder of the Mobile Film Festival.

Returning to the literary aspect, a new tribute to Mohamed Chukri will be held, in this case in Tangiers, at the Riad Sultan Space, on the 18th, with Rocío Rojas-Marcos and the playwright Zoubeir Ben Bouchta, in which fragments of the play Man of Naked Bread, by Ben Bouchta, will be read, with the participation of Ali Tajiti in his Spanish version and the projection of photographs of Mohamed Chukri taken by Rachid El Ouattassi.

The Foundation will also be present at the Casablanca Children's and Young People's Book Fair, with the Granada-born author Alejandro Pedregosa, who will present Álbum de familia, a collection of poems illustrated by Carole Hénaff, with the collaboration of the Spanish Embassy in Morocco and the Cervantes Institute in Casablanca.

Another of the highlights of this programme will be the Moroccan haute couture show which will take place on the 20th and 21st, with two days of fashion shows sponsored by the Royal Air Maroc. The first of these will be dedicated to designers who focus on the creation and handcrafted production of the kaftan, which has become a collector's item due to its elaboration, the raw materials used and the avant-garde nature of its designs. The guest designers are Fatim Filali Idrissi, Amal Belcaid, Kacem Sahl and Nisrine Ezzaki Bakkali.

The second day will showcase Moroccan haute couture with designers exhibiting their creations alongside important Andalusian firms. Thus, Amal Belcaid will do so with Vivas Carrión, Fadela El Gadi with Maquedano and Nisrine Ezzaki Bakkali with Bellehari. The Moroccan designer Saad Ouadrassi, who lives in Paris, will be in charge of opening the fashion shows and will present his new collection, called 'Mediterráneo'. It is also worth mentioning the presence of designs by Maison Sara Chraibi, already presented at Paris Fashion Week.

Music will be doubly represented in this cycle with two interesting proposals. Thus, on the 28th, in conjunction with the Mediterranean Day events, the Bellavista Civic Centre will host a concert by the group Zamaani (at 20:00), a group made up of several musicians united by their love of flamenco, traditional Arab rhythms and dance. On the other hand, on the 30th (8:30 p.m.) the cycle will close with a recital by the Moroccan lyricist, composer and singer Soukaina Fashi.

This programme will also include a round table discussion on one of the current issues in the neighbouring country: the new advances in the Moroccan family code, with the aim of analysing the progress made in the application of this law over the last twenty years. 

Gloria Esteban de la Rosa, Professor of International Private Law at the University of Jaén, and Latifa Benkhair, Professor of Law at the Abdelmalek Essaadi University, will speak on the subject. The debate will be moderated by Emma Berenguer Cárceles, lecturer in the Department of Financial Economics and Accounting at the Pablo de Olavide University. 

Finally, it is worth mentioning the sports component, with the celebration of the football tournament 'United for Diversity', which will take place on 18 November from 10.30 am at the facilities of the Sports Activities Service of the University of Seville (SADUS) in Los Bermejales. Eight teams will take part in the tournament, bringing together young people representing Spanish, Moroccan, Latin American and African communities living in Andalusia.

Invitations to all these events are free of charge. To do so, those interested should enter the Three Cultures Foundation website (www.tresculturas.org), access the information on the activity they are interested in and follow the link that directs them to the invitation platform, which will be available on the days and times indicated.