Yasmine Benkiran

Yasmine Benkiran is a Franco-Moroccan director and screenwriter. She grew up in Rabat on the Moroccan Atlantic coast and moved to Paris at 18 to study philosophy and communication. After working in Buenos Aires, San Francisco, Paris, and London, she joined LA FÉMIS (screenwriting workshop) and obtained her screenwriter’s diploma. Yasmine writes for both television and film. She is also the author of two books about Morocco and a podcast series on Alice Guy, the first female filmmaker in history. In 2018, Yasmine directed the short film L’Heure d’Hiver (Tangier IFF, Off-Courts Trouville). Her first feature film, Reines, a feminist road movie featuring a runaway truck, world premiered in September 2022 at the Venice Film Festival, closing the International Critics’ Week. The film continued its festival run in 2023 and is set to be released in France, spring 2024

Dahomey

Sélection Annuelle 2023

Coécrit avec Myriam Dupuis

A devastating storm makes headlines as it ravages the southern coast of Morocco—except for one small fishing village: Dahomey. The mystery intrigues many. Nisrine, 27, is a broke and disillusioned journalist living in Casablanca, surrounded by skyscrapers, street vendors, and endless traffic jams. She is chosen by her newsroom to investigate the “village that escapes storms.” It just so happens it’s where she grew up. On arrival, Nisrine witnesses strange events seemingly tied to her own family. Disturbed, she finds herself drawn deeper into an investigation she was never prepared for.