Fez — Moroccan director Sanae El Alaoui has won Best Director at the Yellowstone International Film Festival 2025 for her short film “Aicha.”
The festival ran from November 13 to 20 in India, with screenings in Mumbai and New Delhi.
The award extends the film’s strong run on the circuit and spotlights a new voice in Moroccan cinema.
A coming-of-age story anchored in ritual
“Aicha” is a 25-minute drama produced by Piotr Kaczorowski. It follows a 17-year-old girl navigating a fragile relationship with a mother who is emotionally distant. After a family tragedy, the mother turns to a mystical ceremony in a bid to repair a bond that has frayed beyond words.
The story is intimate and tense. It watches quiet gestures and long silences before allowing catharsis to surface.
Festival jurors recognized El Alaoui’s control of tone and image. “Aicha” relies on precise framing and natural light to center the teenager’s perspective. Dialogue is sparse. The camera stays close to faces and hands.
Music is used with restraint so that ritual and breath carry the emotional weight; the approach gives the film a sense of realism that feels immediate while leaving room for symbolism.
The Yellowstone honor follows several festival mentions in 2025. The film received a Special Mention at the National Film Festival in Tangier. It won Best Horror Film at Imagine This Women’s International Film Festival 2025, a nod to its psychological edge rather than genre gore. It also earned an Honorable Mention for Best African Short at the Shnit Worldwide Shortfilmfestival 2025. Together, the prizes mark a steady rise for a project that has travelled across regions and audiences.
El Alaoui’s focus on a mother–daughter relationship fits within a wider wave of Moroccan films that explore family pressures, migration of emotions, and social change through personal stories. “Aicha” stands out for its careful staging of the mystical sequence. The ritual is presented as a community act that is both private and public. It becomes a space where grief can be voiced and where reconciliation is possible, if not guaranteed.
The film’s performances support that balance. The young lead plays uncertainty with a light touch. Her mother’s role avoids cliché, revealing a character who is neither villain nor saint. Small looks and pauses show two people trapped by habits they did not choose. When the ritual arrives, both actors let the scene breathe rather than force a resolution. That choice keeps the ending honest and open.
Recognition across the 2025 festival circuit
For Morocco’s film community, the Yellowstone award is another sign of momentum. Recent seasons have seen Moroccan features and documentaries win prizes at major festivals and attract global interest.
Short films are part of that story. They allow directors to sharpen style, test narratives, and reach international platforms without large budgets. “Aicha” demonstrates how a compact running time can still deliver depth and impact.
With its latest prize, “Aicha” will likely expand its run to additional festivals and curated programs. The film’s themes of loss, repair, and the limits of language travel easily. Its craft invites classroom discussions in film schools and workshops. For El Alaoui, the recognition builds a foundation for her next project. Audiences at home and abroad will expect a follow-up that keeps the same clear eye for character and place.
As 2025 closes, the Best Director award at Yellowstone caps a strong year for Sanae El Alaoui and her team. “Aicha” continues to gather viewers and spark conversation. It shows how Moroccan stories, told with precision and care, can resonate far beyond their point of origin.
