The Marrakech Film Festival and its desert surroundings form the backdrop for Roberto de Paolis and Carlo Lavagna's latest short, in which Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme discusses his ever-evolving relationship to the many genres of film. Demme, who will release Wally and André Shoot Ibsen next year, was the focus of a tribute at the North African event earlier this month. In addition to receiving international acclaim for features like Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married and Silence of the Lambs, which won in all five major Oscar categories, Demme has also directed 14 documentaries, most concentrating on the subjects of human rights and musicians including Neil Young. “He always changes perspective,” says De Paolis, “ranging from the best thriller of the last 25 years, to documentary, to naturalistic contemporary drama, always choosing different atmospheres and languages.” The Italian duo, who previously visited the festival for NOWNESS in 2010, found themselves confronted with the abandoned film set of Lawrence of Arabia when they ducked out of the proceedings and headed to Ouazazarte, known as “the door to the desert,” to visit a friend. “You start in the city, go through a valley, up into the mountains where it is snowing and then back down into the desert,” says De Paolis of the impressive landscape. "If you don’t fall asleep in your car, you will see so many different things in two hours.”