The Godfather moviemaker will head up a team of judges who will select award winners from the feature film competition during the event, which runs from 4 to 12 December (15).

Coppola says, "The Kingdom of Morocco is among my most favourite places on earth, and thus the Marrakech International Film Festival is a joy to attend... My paternal grandmother was born in North Africa (Tunisia) and I remember well the stories she told. All that personal history plus the fact that Morocco was the first country to recognise the American Colonies as an independent nation makes me feel most welcome."

Recent jury presidents include director Martin Scorsese and French actress Isabelle Huppert.