Hamid Benani

Hamid Bénani (Arabic: حميد بناني; born 5 November 1940), is a Moroccan film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. One of the most revered artists in Morocco, Bénani has made several critically acclaimed films including Wechma, La prière des absents and L'enfant Cheïkh. He is also a producer, writer and author.

Personal life He was born on 5 November 1940 in Meknes, Morocco. He had religious education at a Quranic school. Later, he completed secondary studies at Poeymirau and Moulay Ismaïl high schools.

Career In 1958, Bénani received an internship in drama and a creation and writing workshop organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Then in 1964, he attended to the Faculty of Letters of Rabat to obtain the license in philosophy. In 1965, he started film studies at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC) where he was awarded in 1967 under the section "Direction, production and management". Meanwhile, he attended drama seminars conducted at the Sorbonne and at the EPHE2 by philosophers Jacques Derrida, Roland Barthes and Paul Ricoeur.

Even though the film received huge popularity among critics, Bénani had to wait almost twenty years to direct his second feature film, La prière des absents (The Prayer of the Absent), which was initially titled as 'The Secrets of the Milky Way'. This film is adapted from the famous novel by writer Tahar Ben Jelloun.

Filmography

Year Film Role Genre Ref. 1967 Les Bonnes Director film 1967 Coeur à Coeur (Heart to Heart) Director film 1970 Wechma (Traces) Director film 1993 La prière des absents (The Prayer of the Absent) Director film 2012 L'enfant Cheïkh (The Cheïkh Child) Director film 2017 La Nuit ardente (Burning Night) Director film