23rd edition November 20th to 28th, 2026
23rd edition
20 to 28 November, 2026
Hakim Belabbes is a Moroccan director whose deeply humanist work poetically weaves together the themes of memory, exile, and love. Through films such as Threads, In Pieces, Boiling Dreams, Defining Love: A Failed Attempt, Sweat Rain, and Collapsed Walls, he explores the nuances of intimate and collective experience with unique sensitivity. Alongside his work as a filmmaker, he is deeply committed to the transmission and development of cinema practice. After studies in literature and cinema, he taught in Chicago, notably at Columbia College and the School of the Art Institute. In 2015, he founded the Sahara Lab, a space for experimentation and training dedicated to young film talents in Morocco. Since 2023, Belabbes has been Director of the Institut Supérieur des Métiers de l’Audiovisuel et du Cinéma in Rabat.
**THE STORY OF M (2024)
**COLLAPSED WALLS (2022) – Special Jury Prize FESTIVAL NATIONAL DU FILM DU MAROC
*SWEAT RAIN ARAK SHITAE (2017) – Grand Prize, Best Actress (Fatima Ezzahra Bennacer), Best Supporting Actor (Ayoub Khalfaoui) FESTIVAL NATIONAL DU FILM DU MAROC
*WEIGHT OF THE SHADOW / THIKLOU ETHIL (2015, Doc)
*DEFINING LOVE: A FAILED ATTEMPT / MOUHAAWALATOUNE FASHILA LI TAARIFI EL HOB (2013) – Best Editing, Critic’s Prize FESTIVAL NATIONAL DU FILM DU MAROC; Audience Award FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE CINÉMA D’AUTEUR DE RABAT
*BOILING DREAMS / SHI GHADI OU SHI JAY (2012)– Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
*IN PIECES / ASHLAA (2009, Doc) – Best Film, Critic’s Prize FESTIVAL NATIONAL DU FILM DU MAROC
**THESE HANDS / HAZIHI AL-AYADI (2008, Doc)
WHY O’SEA / ALESH AL-BAHER ? (2006)
*THREADS / KHAHIT ERROUH (2003) – Editing Prize FESTIVAL NATIONAL DU FILM DU MAROC
TELL THE WATER (2002, Doc, Short)
A WITNESS (2001, Doc, Short)
R’MAA (2001, Doc, Short)
THREE ANGELS, NO WINGS (2001, Short)
WHISPERS (1999, Doc, Short)
A SHEPHERD AND A RIFLE (1998, Short)
STILL READY (1997, Short)
*BOUJAD: A NEST IN THE HEAT (1992, Doc)
* Also screenwriter
** Also producer
Hakim Belabbes is a Moroccan director whose deeply humanist work poetically weaves together the themes of memory, exile, and love. Through films such as Threads, In Pieces, Boiling Dreams, Defining Love: A Failed Attempt, Sweat Rain, and Collapsed Walls, he explores the nuances of intimate and collective experience with unique sensitivity. Alongside his work as a filmmaker, he is deeply committed to the transmission and development of cinema practice. After studies in literature and cinema, he taught in Chicago, notably at Columbia College and the School of the Art Institute. In 2015, he founded the Sahara Lab, a space for experimentation and training dedicated to young film talents in Morocco. Since 2023, Belabbes has been Director of the Institut Supérieur des Métiers de l’Audiovisuel et du Cinéma in Rabat.