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FAOUZI BENSAÏDI

Director, screenwriter, actor

Morocco

28 October 2022

Biography

Faouzi Bensaïdi directed his first short film, the multi-award-winning The Cliff, in 1998. He then co-wrote Far with André Téchiné. In 2000, he directed two short films: Le Mur, which won a prize at the Directors’ Fortnight at the Festival de Cannes, and The Rain Line, which won a prize at the Venice International Film Festival. His first feature film, A Thousand Months, mois, won the Prix Le premier regard and the Prix de la jeunesse in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. This was followed by WWW – What a Wonderful World, which was selected for the Venice International Film Festival. A reflection on the elements that went into making this film but that were not in the final cut (scraps, sketches, ideas, images, and video) formed the core of an installation called Man’s Worlds – World’s Men in 2009, in collaboration with the contemporary art centre L’Appartement 22. Bensaïdi’s next film, Death for Sale (2011), won the C.I.C.A.E. award at the Berlin International Film Festival. Volubilis was selected for Venice Days in 2017 and won seven awards at the Tangier National Film Festival. Together with Art for the World, Bensaïdi contributed two short films to omnibus films that focus on climate change: A Sunny Day as part of Interdependence (2019); and Why did you leave the horse alone? for Interactions (2022), a film about connections between humans and animals.

In 2022, he directed Summer Days, a modern-day Moroccan adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.

His latest film, Deserts (2023), was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. A theatre aficionado, screenwriter, and editor, Bensaïdi has also appeared as an actor in films by directors Jacques Audiard, Nadir Moknèche, Daoud Aoulad-Syad, and Bertrand Bonello, among others.

Faouzi Bensaïdi directed his first short film, the multi-award-winning The Cliff, in 1998. He then co-wrote Far with André Téchiné. In 2000, he directed two short films: Le Mur, which won a prize at the Directors’ Fortnight at the Festival de Cannes, and The Rain Line, which won a prize at the Venice International Film Festival. His first feature film, A Thousand Months, mois, won the Prix Le premier regard and the Prix de la jeunesse in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. This was followed by WWW – What a Wonderful World, which was selected for the Venice International Film Festival. A reflection on the elements that went into making this film but that were not in the final cut (scraps, sketches, ideas, images, and video) formed the core of an installation called Man’s Worlds – World’s Men in 2009, in collaboration with the contemporary art centre L’Appartement 22. Bensaïdi’s next film, Death for Sale (2011), won the C.I.C.A.E. award at the Berlin International Film Festival. Volubilis was selected for Venice Days in 2017 and won seven awards at the Tangier National Film Festival. Together with Art for the World, Bensaïdi contributed two short films to omnibus films that focus on climate change: A Sunny Day as part of Interdependence (2019); and Why did you leave the horse alone? for Interactions (2022), a film about connections between humans and animals.

In 2022, he directed Summer Days, a modern-day Moroccan adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.

His latest film, Deserts (2023), was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. A theatre aficionado, screenwriter, and editor, Bensaïdi has also appeared as an actor in films by directors Jacques Audiard, Nadir Moknèche, Daoud Aoulad-Syad, and Bertrand Bonello, among others.

As director / comme réalisateur

** Deserts / Déserts (2023)

Summer Days / Jours d’été (2022)

Interactions – When Cinema Looks to Nature (2022)

Interdependence Films 2019 (2019)

  • ** Volubilis (2017) — Grand Prize / Grand prix, Best Actor Awards for / Meilleure actrice et Meilleur acteur pour Nadia Kounda & Mouhcine Malzi – Festival national du film de Tanger • Bronze Tanit / Tanit de bronze – Journées cinématographiques de Carthage

Short Plays (2014)

  • **Death for Sale / Mort à vendre / Baya Al Maut  (2011) — C.I.C.A.E. Award / Prix C.I.C.A.E. –  Panorama, Berlinale • Silver Tanit / Tanit d’argent – Journées cinématographiques de Carthage
  • ** WWW: What a Wonderful World (2006)
  • A Thousand Months / Mille mois (2003) — Le Premier Regard and Youth Awards / Prix de la Jeunesse et du Premier Regard – Un Certain Regard, Festival de Cannes
  • The Rain Line / Trajets (2000) — Best Short Film, Special Mention / Meilleur court métrage, Mention spéciale – Venice International Film Festival
  • Le Mur (2000) — Gras Savoye Award / Prix Gras Savoye – Festival de Cannes

The Cliff / La Falaise (1999)

* also screenwriter / également scénariste

** also actor / également acteur

 

As actor / comme acteur uniquement

Sofia (2018, Meryem Benm’Barek)

The Blessed / Les Bienheureux (2022, Sofia Djama)

Dheepan (2015, Jacques Audiard) – Palme d’or – Festival de Cannes

Goodbye Morocco (2012, Nadir Moknèche)

The Wind Horse / Le Cheval de vent (2001, Daoud Aoulad Syad)

Mektoub (1997, Nabil Ayouch)

 

As screenwriter / comme scénariste uniquement

Far / Loin (2001, André Téchiné)

Mektoub (1997, Nabil Ayouch)

Selected Films

Déserts (الثلث الخالي)

Volubilis

Deserts (الثلث الخالي)

A Thousand Months (Mille Mois)

Death for Sale