Charles at the Marakech film festival in 2008 ~ alyssadu

In stepped Morocco, where an increasing number of UK and US films set in Muslim countries are being shot. Now a new co-production agreement with the UK Film Council could see the kingdom play an even greater role in future homegrown productions.

In support of the deal, which is expected to come into force in the first half of 2009, a raft of British stars including John Hurt, Gurinder Chadha, Charles Dance and Toby Jones are travelling to north Africa this week to attend the Marrakech film festival, which opened last Friday with the African premiere of Barry Levinson's new comedy What Just Happened and runs until Saturday.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/nov/19/marrakech-film-festival

As proof of progress, Morocco and the UK Film Council signed a new co-production agreement to give filmmakers access to support and funding in both Morocco and the UK. Following the waft of a business class ticket and a nice suite, a handful of British talent arrived in support of the agreement, albeit in jeans, for the closing ceremony (Charles Dance, you know who you are). And Christopher Lee, surely older than God by now, poked his nose into a few screenings with his niece, Harriet Walter, while Brian Cox, sporting a tiny pair of shorts and shaved legs, skulked around the Sofitel lobby.

http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/marrakech-film-festival-2189