Culturally significant as the biggest event in the calendar of Morocco's highly successful film industry, the Marrakech International Film festival brings together writers, actors and directors from many nations. Last year's Marrakech Film Festival saw a number of Hollywood big hitters including Francis Ford Coppola, Harvey Keitel, Keanu Reeves and Martin Scorsese. This year's 11th annual Marrakech International Film Festival takes place between 2nd and 10th December. With attendees from around the world, including several hundred from the media, the film festival is testament to the importance of the Moroccan film industry, based at the Atlas Studios outside the desert town of Ouarzate, which goes back as far as Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and beyond. More recent productions have been 'Kingdom of Heaven' and 'Gladiator' by Ridley Scott, a regular visitor, 'Black Hawk Down' and 'Babel'.