Melita Toscan du Plantier Talks Marrakech Festival's 22nd Edition

On opening night of the 22nd Marrakech International Film Festival, Melita Toscan du Plantier found herself living a scene worthy of a movie. Walking through the Mamounia Hotel’s sumptuous lobby before heading to the opening cocktail party, she noticed a familiar silhouette waiting discreetly for a car. “I thought, that man really looks like Denis Villeneuve,” she tells Variety . It was in fact Denis Villeneuve — in Morocco secretly, resting from “Dune 3” shoots. Minutes later, Toscan du Plantier had effortlessly swept the Canadian director into the festival’s intimate celebration. “He was kind of our surprise guest,” she says, especially Bong Joon, who was there with his jury, including Anya Taylor-Joy (who also stars in “Dune 3”), Jenna Ortega (“Wednesday”), “Past Lives” and “Materia