Projects in development
Siméon Idriss
Synopsis
Siméon, a young Senegalese artist, arrives in a remote High Atlas Moroccan village to lead art workshops at the school while seeking traces of ancient rock art. As he speaks neither Arabic nor Amazigh, he relies on a solitary, frail local teacher for communication. He observes, sketches, and reports to his mother the everyday gestures into his dictaphone. The children, unable to pronounce his name, call him Idriss. Among them, Mina, a spirited girl, catches his attention: she weaves tapestries with other girls while challenging traditional patterns. A silent bond forms between them. Rumors spread, blending curiosity with unease. What traces will Siméon leave behind? What ancient village stories will he carry away with him?
Atlantis Films (Morocco)
El Houssine Hanine
Les Films du Mirage (France)
Youssef Amar
Director’s statement
Siméon Idriss takes root at the crossroads of realities that deeply move me: the difficulty of transmitting knowledge in rural areas and the structural racism faced by sub-Saharan Africans in Morocco on top of the absence of their stories from our collective imagination. This film is an attempt to reconnect these fragments through the character of Siméon, who enters the village as one enters a foreign memory, sparking a reawakening in those he encounters. Since the characters do not share a common language, the narrative unfolds through an artistic language inspired by Amazigh and African rock art that connects these realities into a shared ancestral expression. I aim to create a living, sensory film in which the power of the unspoken is central. A film where wind, stones, gestures, and gazes speak more than words.
Biographies
Zineb Wakrim is a Moroccan filmmaker and screenwriter. Trained at ESAV Marrakech, she explores art and spirituality as refuges against the hostility of the world. Her short film Ayyur won the third Cinef prize at the Festival de Cannes in 2023. She is currently developing her first feature-length film while teaching directing in Rabat and sitting on the Moroccan Cinematographic Center’s production fund committee. In 2023, Forbes Middle East named her one of its 30 Under 30
Youssef Amar graduated from studies in creative industries management at Essec. After several years working in advertising production, he joined the Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris. Alongside his experience in Parisian production companies, he founded Les Films du Mirage in 2024. He notably produced Sacha Teboul’s Kavalyé O Dam (2024), which was broadcast on Arte, and Jules de Vésigot-Wahl’s The Land of Slumber, which was selected at the Festival de Cannes in 2025.
