BOUCHRA to Premiere on VOD and Digital Platforms
The film combines animation, documentary and family drama into a single narrative work.
BOUCHRA, a film described as blending animation, documentary and family drama, is set to premiere on VOD and digital platforms. The release combines the three formats into a single work, according to details shared ahead of its digital debut.
BOUCHRA is premiering on VOD and all leading digital platforms on August 21, 2026.
Synopsis
Wrestling with writer's block for her first film, Bouchra, a queer Moroccan jackal living in NYC, starts having difficult yet overdue phone calls with her mother in Casablanca that begin influencing the project. Balancing the precarity of working as an artist in New York, the rift in her identity between her two homes and an array of friendships and romantic interests, Bouchra's emotional reckoning with her mother and herself becomes her path to expression.
With a lived-in granularity and unmistakable visual style, BOUCHRA, the feature debut from acclaimed visual artists Meriem Bennani and Orian Barki (best known together from their 2020 web series 2 LIZARDS), is a singular portrait effortlessly towing the line between documentary, visual art and resonant family drama. Deeply felt, surprisingly sexy and formally adventurous, Bennani and Barki's distinctive debut forges new ground that 'will make it a classic of queer cinema for years to come' (Next Best Picture).
Select Festivals/Awards
Göteborg Film Festival (2026) | Nominated, Best Debut Feature
Chicago International Film Festival (2025) | Winner, Gold Q-Hugo
Toronto International Film Festival (2025) | Nominated, Platform Award
BOUCHRA (2025)
Directed by: Orian Barki, Meriem Bennani
Written by: Orian Barki, Meriem Bennani, Ayla Mrabet
Cast: Meriem Bennani, Orian Barki, Ariana Faye Allensworth, Fayçal Azizi, Yto Barrada
Produced by: Fondazione Prada
Executive Produced by: Orian Barki, Meriem Bennani, Hi Procution, Cecile Winckler, Octavia Peissel, Ella Bishop, Pau Suris
Cinematography by: John Michael Bolling
Head of Animation: Jason Coombs
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