Introduction

Faouzi Bensaidi was born in 1967 in Meknès and, after completing his diploma studies of acting at ISADAC in Rabat, he spent a further period of drama study in Paris from 1990 onwards, first at the Institut d'Etudes Théatrales at the University of Paris III and then at CNSAD. He also did courses in various aspects of filmmaking at FEMIS in 1995. His long academic training allows him to be unusually articulate about the choices he makes when filming and the nature of his own mise-en-scène. But he also has wide practical and professional experience, having worked extensively in theatre in Morocco as both actor and director. On screen, he has had important roles in Nabil Ayouch's Mektoub (1997), Jillali Ferhati's Braids/Tresses (1999) and Daoud Aoulad Syad's The Wind Horse/Le Cheval de vent (2001). In addition, he has worked as co-writer and actor on the French director André Téchiné's feature Far Away/Loin (2001), a story of drug trafficking which was shot in Morocco. Bensaidi is very much a product of the Moroccan government's project to support younger filmmakers.