Rabat – Moroccan actress Nadia Kounda has won the Best Actress Award at the Brussels International Film Festival for her role in “Les Fourmis” (The Ants), directed by Yassine Fennane.
Produced in 2025, the film was one of five feature films selected for the international competition out of 250 works viewed by the festival’s committee.
Les Fourmis takes viewers deep into the city of Tangier and offers a sensitive and human portrayal of often invisible migration journeys. It has become one of the most internationally recognized Moroccan films of 2025, having been screened in Durban, Paris, and Brussels, and soon in London, New York, Nairobi, and Kinshasa.
Running for 90 minutes, the film is part of a new North African cinematic movement exploring African migration from within the continent. It follows three intersecting stories: Félicité, a Cameroonian migrant determined to bury her late friend with dignity; Hamid, a father torn between duty and ambition; and Kenza, a young bourgeois woman seeking personal freedom.
The paths of these three people cross in a powerful social narrative about poverty, migration, dreams, and disillusionment.
Born in 1989 in Casablanca, Kounda began her acting career around 2008 in Morocco and gained recognition for her leading role in “L’Amante du Rif” (2011). She later moved to Montreal, Canada, where she studied film production and developed her international film career.
Among her notable works is “Volubilis” (2017), for which she received the Best Actress award at the El Gouna Film Festival.
Another Moroccan film also took part in the Brussels film festival’s 10th edition, held from October 28 to November 1. “Une Histoire de vacances” (A Holiday Story) by Malika Zairi competed in the short film category. The film addresses identity tensions and generational conflicts within families from the Moroccan diaspora.
The Brussels International Film Festival, organized by the festival’s association, is held across Brussels and several African cities. It serves as a meeting point between African and European cinema, promoting African creativity and building cultural bridges through bold and innovative works.
