Yasmine Benkiran (a Moroccan-born French director), made her feature film debut. “Queens”It was opened in Venice, and is currently playing at Marrakech Film Festival. Two ambitious features are being developed now.
“Queens,”This film, which was created at the Atlas Workshops (the industry sidebar that runs alongside the Marrakech Film Festival), is a rare Moroccan film weaving adventure and genre featuring strong female protagonists.
Benkiran will continue to explore complex female characters in her future projects, which include a spy film titled “Elles ont brillé sur le Nil” (“They Shined on the Nile”). The project, which has received support from the Ile de France region, is set in 1950’s Cairo, Egypt. Zeyna, a makeup artists, is the central character of the story. She investigates the mysterious death Amal El Abbrach, a prominent Syrian-born actress known under Asmahan.
“Asmahan was an amazing actress and singer whose fame was compared with that of Marilyn Monroe and she also died in tragic circumstances,” said Benkiran. “Through Zeyna’s eyes, the film will shed behind the scenes light of the flamboyant Egyptian film world of the 1950’s, which was more liberated than Hollywood at that time,”The filmmaker continued.
The film will be set against the rich backdrop of Egypt’s history and colorful entertainment world which attracted artists from all over the world, said Benkiran. She added that she was drawn to tell this story after reading Fatima Mernissi’s book “Rêves de femme: contes d’enfance au harem.”
Although this film is still in an early stage, it will require a substantial budget. Benkiran is also developing another fantasy-filled adventure movie set on Dahomey, a beach that was destroyed by a tsunami.
Benkiran, who made a directorial debut in the short film “Winter Hour”She was an avid fan of science fiction films and fantasy films in 2018. However, growing up in Morocco, she couldn’t find any local films that she liked. They were inspiring female characters. “very rare”Moroccan movies
“Science fiction, action, fantasy, horror films can also be political, not just social dramas,”She spoke. “Queens,” for example, talks about the limits of Morocco’s patriarchal rules through the story of a trio of rebellious female outlaws – a mother, her daughter and a young girl – who drive through the desert with local police forces on their trail.
Benkiran, who was present at the premiere of the film in Morocco at the Marrakech festival said that she was moved by the applause, laughter, and cheers throughout the screening. Remi Bonhomme, the festival’s new artistic director, said it was one of the highlights of this 19th edition.
“Queens” is backed by a strong key crew including music composer Jozef van Wissem whose credits include Jim Jarmusch’s “Only Lovers Left Alive,”Pierre Aim, a critically acclaimed cinematographer “The Nile Hilton Incident”French cult film “La Haine.”
Jean des Forets produced the film, along with Amelie Jacquis, at Petit Film. Said Hamich Benlarbi, at Mont Fleuri Production, co-produced the film, among other things.