Bouchra
Asian Premiere
Meriem Bennani, Orian Barki Italy, Morocco, US 2025 83 min Rating To Be Advised
A queer artist tries to engage with her avoidant mother in this inventively animated film.
Moroccan artist Bouchra navigates professional and personal challenges in New York while working on an autobiographical film and visiting her family in Casablanca. Structured around actual phone conversations with Bennani and her mother Aicha, the film explores their fond yet fraught relationship, complicated by tensions around Bouchra’s sexuality.
Characters inspired by the filmmakers’ friends and family are rendered into animals using various animation styles. This anthromorphism refracts reality and fiction, and intimate interactions are portrayed through layers of confession and performance. Multilingual dialogue and a sound design incorporating North African music contribute to this vibrant metafilmic experience.
Synopsis Writer: Sam I-shan
1 Dec, Mon 7:00PM / 83 min
Oldham Theatre
AT THE FEST!
All screenings are on a free seating, first-come, first-served basis. We kindly ask all ticket holders to arrive on time. Latecomers may not be guaranteed entry.
RUSH QUEUE:
For last-minute attendees, good news. Our Rush Queue is back this year!
Bouchra
Meriem Bennani, Orian Barki
Italy, Morocco, US
2025
Moroccan Arabic, French, English
English
83 min
Rating To Be Advised
Asian Premiere
Meriem Bennani, Orian Barki
Orian Barki is a documentary filmmaker focusing on raw, character-driven stories. Meriem Bennani works with immersive installations, video and film. She has exhibited at the Whitney Biennale, MoMA PS1 and Fondazione Prada, among others. Their animated series 2 Lizards (2020) premiered to international acclaim on Instagram and was acquired by MoMA.
Meriem Bennani,
Yto Barrada,
Orian Barki,
Ariana Faye Allensworth,
Salima Dhaibi
Orian Barki,
Meriem Bennani,
Hi Production,
Cecile Winckler,
Octavia Peissel,
Ella Bishop,
Pau Suris
