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Born in Casablanca and raised in Morocco until the age of 12, Hind Bensari spent most of her life living in London. «My parents had to stay in the UK until 2008 but I lived there until 2013», Bensari told Yabiladi.
Right after graduating high school, Hind Bensari left for Scotland to study economy and politics in the Middle East at the University of Edinburgh, the sixth oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's ancient universities. In 2007, the young undergraduate traveled to Lebanon for a student exchange program at the American University of Beirut. One year later, Hind returned to London to join the London School of Economics and Political Science.
With a degree in the hand, Hind Bensari worked mainly in project finance, in London and in the Middle East, until she decided to turn into documentaries. «No one was a filmmaker in my family and throughout my studies, cinema was not so common», said Hind Bensari.
«I started doing documentaries with Amina Filali, a teenager who committed suicide in March 2012, after she was forced to marry her rapist. I wanted to return to Morocco and commit myself to changing the penal code article that allowed that».
For Hind Bensari «in a society where illiteracy rate is high, using images is the only possible way to reach people». «I started making movies by wanting to contribute to getting things done», she explained.
«What inspires me the most these days in documentary making is the creative process the realness, and humane part of it. All these things make you want to follow up and know about a certain story for several years».
Real cinema
To finance her first documentary «475: Break the Silence», Hind Bensari turned to internet, where she launched a crowdfunding campaign. «I wrote this film just like an essay on the issue of rape and the way in which rape victims are seen in Morocco. When the documentary went online, in 2014, I was spotted first by Nabil Ayouch, then by 2M, through Reda Benjelloun».
«What made me want to do cinema is having this idea of speaking to the Moroccan society, reach a maximum of people», she said adding that she «wants to work on topics that are based, primarily, on human stories that touch [her]».
Four years she released her first documentary, Hind Bensari produced her second one entitled «We could be heroes». It is the story of two unbeatable Moroccan athletes, who managed to overcome their handicap, participate to international competitions and tournaments but struggled to receive recognition.
«This film is not about physical challenges, but about 'hogra' (injustice), and the difficulties that international athletes are faced with».
At the beginning of this project, Hind Bensari stumbled upon Azzedine Nouiri during the 2012 Summer Paralympics, where he won a gold medal and set a new record. «I lived in London at the time, I saw him on the BBC and he looked very unique and exceptional», she said. One year later, «I finally met him in Safi».
«We are currently sending a petition to people to sign so that our athletes can have a salary».
Like the preparation for his first album, Hind Bensari faced financial constraints to produce outbreak of «We could be heroes». «If I had limited myself to Morocco, it would have been impossible», she argued.
Hind Bensari faced other problems when trying to produce her documentaries. «Obtaining authorization for the filming of a documentary takes ages. And while filming we are most of the time followed by the local authorities. It is hard to film in Morocco, even when you have all your legal paper work», she complained.
Hind Bensari is currently working on a new project that she shared with Yabiladi. «It is a documentary series in France, where I spotlight French sports champions who help young people», she concluded.
