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«My childhood dream was to become an actress. I watched movies at home, I remembered the names of the actors and I danced on Madonna in my family's living room.» And so it started for Narrimane Benaissa, who attended school in Rabat. Born to a Moroccan father and a French mother, she grew up by immersing herself in two cultures that inspired her artistically.
After a year of studying law in Paris, «Narrimane», as per her stage name, quickly realized that she «was in a cultural city where it was necessary to let express an artistic vocation». Thus, she abandons her future career as a lawyer to register for the Cours Florent. For three years she followed a training as a stage actress.
«I learned a lot about acting,» she told Yabiladi. I really enjoy realistic cinema, the one that manages to disturb us when we are distructed by our daily life.» For this reason, Narrimane chooses early to follow a path allowing her to take a critical look at society.
Proponent of a social cinema
«My father would have preferred me to go for a more common field. But afterwards, I was able to convince him that I could not evolve other than in an artistic discipline». Later, the director-to-be enrolled at the Ecole Supérieure d'Etudes Cinématographiques (ESEC) in Paris.
This training allowed her to have a more global perspective on her acting career, with a better knowledge of the cinema behind the scene : «Once I arrived in Morocco, I dived into the professional world and learned a lot of hands-on techniques. Things you can not learn only in class or at the lecture hall.»
From this learning experience a short film was born, Leur Nuit, released in 2013. The story is the one of a woman working as night-time security guard:
«The role is embodied by Amal El Atrach. I put a woman in a leading role, because I am a woman too and because we live in a rather harsh environment. Since childhood, we have been taught that nightlife is not for educated people. The world of the night is different from the one where we live during the day. In this film, the character works and lives for her daughter, whom she no longer sees. A whole world of women and men gravitates around her».
Awarded in Morocco and abroad, the short film is hailed in the country. Following her passion for social cinema and encouraged by this first project, Narrimane decided to make a documentary on abortion in Morocco. Immediately, the support diminished :
«I wanted to show how women did not know their own bodies. They are taught the least possible about it. I had a long talk with Dr. Chafiq Chraïbi about the subject. I did an artistic residency in Barcelona to develop the project, I wrote a lot. However, the film did not even get a filming license.»
The filmmaker says she did not receive any more support following that :
«In the beginning, many people said they are ready to help. But as soon as it becomes public, they withdraw and do not want to get involved with you in the front line. It's not the kind of projects that makes you make friends.»
An industry that cannot afford its ambitions
Undaunted, Narrimane chose to work on another film, which evokes the religious and social codes of marriage, as well as their perception by the younger generations in Morocco. It starts from an observation where «young couples who have everything for them end up separating disastrously».
Due to a lack of funds to support production, the artist finally moved to France, hoping to find a producer in there :
«It's not exoticism or neocolonialism, but it is to complete a project I have been carrying for a long time, for which I did not find support in Morocco and which I still wanted to fulfill.»
Thus, the artist finds that as soon as a Moroccan film is born thanks to an international co-production, it is acclaimed everywhere. Morocco is pleased to see it selected in international festivals. But before the praise and during the preparation of a hailed work, «we feel helpless».
Lifelong teacher and disciple
In addition to her artistic career, Narrimane teaches French, English and cinema in France:
«As a French Moroccan, in Morocco, I am the Frenchwoman to whom we put all the labels. In France, I am "Moroccan" and I am proud to be Moroccan anyway, but I will be the one who will be asked to start by making a film about the suburbs while I didn't grow up there.»
The artist teaches languages in Seine-Saint-Denis, «one of the poorest departments in France», where she discovered several roles at a time, facing human situations that she had not experienced before :
«I have a role as a teacher, an educator, and social worker ... I have to deal with situations where children from Bangladesh, Mali, Sri Lanka, do not speak French or English yet.»
In addition, Narrimane teaches cinema in the trendy 8th arrondissement of Paris, which contrasts sharply with this environment :
«People are dressed in shirts and jackets, are surprised that I don't have a distinctive accent ... All this gives me a taste of this socially-diverse France which I cherish and which I feel is perishing. We are living through an extreme era where people are no longer curious about other cultures.»
Being a teacher, for Narrimane, «is very glorifying». This job also gives her the opportunity to «help young people believe in a better future and change the situation they live in,» says Narrimane.
Stand-up comedy : a fresh feeling
«To make a film, before starting with the team of actors and producers, we are alone and we defend the project alone,» says Narrimane. Being alone in a stand-up feels the same according to her. The artist, who never missed the show Stand Up America during her childhood, has also developed a taste for one-woman shows :
«It's something that has fascinated me as much as cinema, directing and acting. While I am setting up my film projects and when I have the opportunity to talk about topics that fascinate me, that is to say on stage in front of the public, I am always up for it. Over a lifetime, our status as a woman changes and evolves. All these phases are accompanied by a need to express ourselves. I found a good way to do it in stand-up comedy.»
Between two film projects, Narrimane also lived for a year in Scotland. «An interesting moment in my life,» she recalls :
«I was a production assistant for Vice Magazine. It was a great moment of learning and immersion in a city, Glasgow, where there is a lot of poverty and assaults. People are suffering from alcoholism and drugs ... I realized that my libertarian side had to express itself elsewhere, abroad.»
Coming back
Back from Glasgow, Narrimane also explores podcasts. Very often, first on her Facebook page and then on her Youtube channel, she publishes rants through which she denounces the malaise of society. But that was not interpreted as an actress staging in front of her own camera :
«When I posted my first podcasts on Youtube, I got called all kinds of insults. I got harassed. During these attacks, I was followed by some people who understood the sarcasm, but most would not accept the discomfort of seeing someone express themselves in a real, unadorned and outspoken way.»
If such was the goal, the actress is not sure that Internet users were ready to consider this work for its artistic dimension : «I believe that social media has developed a visceral hatred from all these people alone in front of their computers, who watch you through a screen and take you down for no reason.»
In her approach, the artist aims to «do something that will transmit a message to society, fight for women's rights, to let them know about these rights, in all authenticity.» This is why she deplores the fact of «being a public figure who does not take advantage of this position to transmit messages and promote a dynamic of change».
Listening to her body as an artist, she also considers that this approach has a great impact on the creative process of an actor :
«When I was younger, I was a tennis professional. I stopped it for a long time, but three years ago I fell for surfing and boxing. It brought me a lot of serenity by connecting my body and my mind. Sport allows you to push your limits further. We immediately feel ready to face new challenges in life.»
Today, Narrimane returns to Morocco enriched with all these experiences :
«With time and with all the human and professional experiences I had, I tell myself that I was right to live all what I lived. It allowed me not to be defeated».
