Bouchra

Orian Barki has directed short documentaries and commercials. Meriem Bennani has been developing a practice of films, sculptures and immersive installations shown at the Whitney Biennale or Guggenheim Museum. They have already directed together the TV series 2 Lizards (2020). Bouchra is their first feature film.

A word from the selection committee : 
Through the coming-out story of Bouchra, a queer Moroccan filmmaker based in New York and brought to life as a 3D coyote, the film questions the fractures of exile: how can one fully inhabit one’s identity when certain realities seem irreconcilable? In this quest for identity, Bouchra sets out to direct a film about her own story – a deliberate piece of meta-autofiction by one of the co-directors, Meriem Bennani, who lends her voice to the character. A parallel edit between Morocco and the United States mirrors this movement towards reconciliation, beginning with restored communication over the phone between mother and daughter, from one continent to the other. Animated in Blender – a free open-source 3D software programme that has become a touchstone for many artists – the film blends retro textures with contemporary narrative technologies, drawing on TikTok trends and constant overstimulation, all set to the beat of Flavien Berger’s soundtrack. One of the most striking scenes? An unexpectedly erotic sex scene – rather daring in an animated film populated by talking animals. Following on from 2 Lizards (a miniseries they co-directed in 2023), Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani continue to build the foundations of their collaboration: a surreal, joyous, and political universe. 

Rose Hirgorom