Fyzal Boulifa

With his unique point of view, Fyzal Boulifa began making waves in the cinematic world as early as 2008. Born in Leicester, England in 1985 to Moroccan born parents, Boulifa became intensely interested in horror films as a child, often watching them in secret to avoid being caught by his mother, even when they frightened him to tears. As he grew older, he began investigating the worlds of underground, foreign, and classic cinema, taking particular inspiration from a viewing of "Day of Wrath" (1943) during his teens. Though he opted not to attend university to pursue his interest in film, Boulifa nonetheless moved ahead with his passion, learning on the job as he began creating short films. He wrote his first short film, the confrontational "Whore" (2008) in 2008, and directed his first, "Coming Back" (2009) the following year. He wrote and directed the more personal "Burn My Body" (2010). Then in 2012, Boulifa wrote and directed "The Curse" (2012), a short film based on one of his mother's experiences. The short proved to be Boulifa's breakthrough as it played at several film festivals including Sundance, the Chicago International Film Festival, and Cannes, where the film won the Illy Prize. The following year, Boulifa was awarded a Cinéfondation writing residency, which allowed him to work on his next project, the short film "Rate Me" (2015). The project garnered Bolifa more accolades, playing once again at Sundance as well as at the Toronto International Film Festival and winning the Illy Prize at Cannes for the second time. In 2019, Boulifa made a major advancement as an artist with his feature film debut, "Lynn + Lucy" (2019). The intimate story of a friendship between two women was well received, with nominations for Best Film and the Douglas Hickox Award at the British Independent Film Awards.