19th FIFFS edition

Dialogue of Filmmakers

Cross Perspectives

Two perspectives in dialogue

Built around a new concept, this festival section does not seek to artificially confront different approaches to the representation of women in cinema. Rather, it offers a genuine encounter conceived as a mirror: each filmmaker is invited to reflect on the other’s journey, share her perspective on her films, and bring forth an intertwined vision of the creative process.

This approach aims to contribute to the development of a film culture that goes beyond mere “positive discrimination” to question the forms of conformity that continue to hinder creativity.

This year, the focus is on two major voices of a new generation of filmmakers: Moroccan director Hind Bensari and director and screenwriter Sofia Alaoui. Throughout this encounter, each will offer her perspective on the other’s experience, artistic choices, and films.

Cross Perspectives

Guest filmmakers

Two distinctive journeys brought together for a conversation about creation and contemporary cinema.

Director

Hind Bensari

Morocco

Born in Casablanca in 1987, Hind Bensari is a Moroccan filmmaker who grew up in the United Kingdom, where she studied Economics and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Edinburgh and the London School of Economics. A self-taught filmmaker, she became the first African female director to win the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at Toronto’s Hot Docs Festival in 2018 with her debut feature documentary « We Could Be Heroes ». The film also won the Grand Prize at Morocco’s National Film Festival in Tangier and contributed to changes in Moroccan legislation granting equal pay and rights to athletes with disabilities. In 2021, she directed « CharactHER », a Creative Media Europe campaign highlighting women working in the European film and media industries. Her film « Out of School » received two awards at Venice Final Cut during the 2025 Venice Film Festival. Since 2024, she has taught documentary filmmaking at ESAV Marrakech, and in September 2025, she was appointed Head of Documentary at the Moroccan television channel 2M.

Director and screenwriter

Sofia Alaoui

Morocco

Sofia Alaoui is a Moroccan filmmaker and screenwriter. Her debut feature film, « Animalia », premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023, where it received a Special Jury Award and was praised for its singular universe at the intersection of auteur cinema and the fantastical. She is also the writer and director of the short film « So What If the Goats Die », which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the César Award in 2021. In 2026, she served as a jury member for first feature films at the Berlinale, where she participated in awarding the GWFF Best First Feature Award. She is currently developing several international projects, including two English-language feature films, one with the BBC in the UK, as well as an international series produced by Chapter 2. Deeply connected to Morocco, she is also developing « Tarfaya », continuing her exploration of genre cinema, contemporary issues, and her Moroccan roots.