Faiçal Ben
After ten years of service in the army, Faiçal Ben found in cinema what he had been seeking for a long time: freedom of expression and creation.
Autodidact, he now is part of the new generation of independent Moroccan film directors. Through his readings, film screenings, but also his workfield with experienced filmmakers, masterclasses and writing residencies, Faiçal Ben has been able to develop his own cinematographic identity.
He started with the creation of his production company FilmsBeldi Production, then began his career with the making of two experimental short-films (Décalage, 2015 and Confusion, 2016) and a first short fiction film (Alter Ego, 2016) with Younes Bouab in the main role.
After two residencies in 2015 – La Ruche documentaries in Agadir as part of the FIDADOC festival and Tenk in Senegal, he began filming his feature documentary Cercles, still in development. In the interim, he has directed a short documentary (Itinérants, 2017) for Handicap international and another documentary (De tout temps, on traverse en barque, 2019) in collaboration with the New South collective.
In 2018, Faiçal Ben directed his second short fiction film (Ales, 2019), which screened at over 40 festivals and won numerous awards. His third short film (L’être Démuni, 2020) is currently in post-production. Other experimental films have been appended to the list of films made by the artist, such as L’hôpital – Fragments enchaînés (4 videos – work in progress, 2018 and 2020) produced during the artist residency MABÂHITH within the Ar Razi psychiatric hospital in Salé.
Also, Sans soleil, le temps devient un mythe, a film produced in India – New Delhi in 2019, as well as FA002-Larbaa Ayacha in 2020 produced during the collective intervention as part of the FA/Festival of Indigenous Art. Today, he is dedicated to writing his first full-length film.
In this regard, he was selected for the Méditalents writing residency, where he was followed by Ismaël Ferroukhi in 2018. Then participated in the Jérôme Gary workshop as part of the Rabat Author’s Film Festival and finally he attended a workshop led by Effie T. Brown & Jordana Mollick, organised by Global Media Makers & Film independent.
Faiçal Ben lives and works in Rabat.




