Meryem Benm’Barek was born in Rabat, Morocco. She grew up between Morocco, France and Belgium. In 2010, she enrolled in film direction studies at INSAS in Brussels, where she directed several short films including Jennah, selected in several international festivals and listed for the 2015 Oscars. In 2018, Sofia, her first feature film won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, before winning several international awards.