Founder, Hors du Bocal
- Graduated from Maastricht University in 2019
- Launched Hors du Bocal in 2023
After graduating from Maastricht University, Benasri worked for 18 months at Martin Gondre’s Best Friend Forever as festivals and sales assistant and then for a year at Brussels-based Daylight Films (now known as Boucan) as production co-ordinator, before launching her own sales agency in 2023.
At her Liege- and Brussels-based company, Benasri’s mission is to identify talent at an early stage and then nurture directors making the transition from shorts to features. Hors du Bocal is a close-knit outfit supporting independent voices who often remain underrepresented. The company reflects a commitment to films that, as she puts it, “exist outside the expected frame”.
Benasri has handled feature documentaries including Les Miennes from Belgian Moroccan director Samira El Mouzghibati and Okurimono from Canadian director Laurence Lévesque. Both played Visions du Réel in 2024.
The company also champions films “from the global south” including Radikals by Arvin Belarmino, a Filipino short selected for last year’s Cannes Critics’ Week, and new short Bleat! by Malaysian director Ananth Subramaniam, which will play this year’s Critics’ Week. Both filmmakers are developing their debut features.
As the team grows, Benasri says her company will continue to represent both shorts and features: “I find great satisfaction in spotting emerging voices and supporting filmmakers at the start of their careers.”
ContactL zahra@horsdubocal.eu
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