Randa Maroufi is a French-Moroccan director, producer and screenwriter born in Casablanca in 1984. Maroufi’s films have been lauded for their unique and personal style, often featuring a mix of documentary and fiction elements to convey the experience of Moroccan youth living in a world between two cultures.
Maroufi began her career in 2004, after graduating from the Institute of Fine Arts in Casablanca. She directed her first short film, “Leila’s Room”, a story about a young girl’s journey to reconcile her love for her father with her own identity. The film was screened at several international film festivals and won several awards, including the Jury Award at the 10th International Short Film Festival in Tangier.
In 2005, Maroufi directed her feature film debut, “Iman’s Smile”. It follows the story of a young girl growing up in a rural village in Morocco and her struggles to find her footing in a community that doesn’t understand her. The film received critical acclaim, and won numerous awards, including Best Film at the Marrakech International Film Festival.
In 2009, Maroufi wrote and directed the documentary short “The Road to My Father”, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Grand Prix for Best Documentary at the Dubai International Film Festival. The film follows Maroufi’s own journey to find her father, whom she had never met. This film was the first of many documentaries that Maroufi would go on to make, including “The Return of the Prodigal Son” (2010) and “The Search for Home” (2012).
Maroufi’s most recent feature film, “In the Last Days of the City” (2015), was an ambitious and poetic exploration of identity and memory set in Cairo. The film was selected for the Sundance Film Festival and won the NETPAC Award at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Maroufi continues to work as a director and producer. She is currently developing a feature film about a teenage girl’s experience of growing up in a small village in Morocco. Maroufi’s work has been praised for its unique perspective on identity and belonging and for its skillful blending of documentary and fiction elements.
