Afef Ben Mahmoud

Afef Ben Mahmoud dashed into a rich artistic career from an early age, initially as a dancer then as an actress. She held lead roles under major Tunisian directors in films like Nouri Bouzid’s “Making Of” and Mehdi Hmili’s “Streams”, receiving Best Actress at the Cairo International Film Festival. Ben Mahmoud produced Bouzid’s latest film “The Scarecrows” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Afef co-directed her first feature, “Backstage” with Khalil Benkirane, in which she plays a lead role. The film premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, in competition at the Giornate degli Autori. Ben Mahmoud holds a diploma in scriptwriting and direction, and a Master of Research in Image Design.

Khalil Benkirane

After pursuing cinema studies, Khalil Benkirane oversaw the San Francisco Arab Film Festival then returned to Morocco to direct “The White Thread”. In 2008, he moved to Qatar and produced films for Al Jazeera Children Channel then joined the Doha Film Institute in 2011 where he oversees since the Grants Programme. In 2019 he co-produced Nouri Bouzid's "The Scarecrows" which won the Human Rights Award at the Venice Film Festival and contributed to Ali Essafi’s "Before The Dying of The Light". Khalil produced and co-directed "Backstage" which premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, in competition at Giornate degli Autori, and won the Cinema & Arts award.