Moroccan filmmaker and artist Sofia El Khyari, the 2025 Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellow at The Africa Institute, celebrates her acclaimed film Shadow of the Butterflies reaching its 100th international festival selection this month. The film also won Best Animation at the Morocco Shorts International Film Festival in Rabat, following a tour that began with its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival.
This November, El Khyari’s work is featured at exhibitions and film festivals in Canada and Morocco. Her exhibition runs November 4–16, 2025, at the Cinémathèque Québécoise in Montreal as part of the Cinemania Festival, where Morocco is the country of honor. A duo show with filmmaker Sofia Alaoui, it features original paintings from El Khyari’s handmade animated films, following their recent display at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. The exhibition officially opened on November 6.
Her short films are also screening internationally throughout the month, including at Cinemania in Montreal (November 6 & 8), Morocco Shorts in Rabat (November 12), the FIDEC Festival in Tétouan (November 21–26), and Portugal later this month.
During her fellowship at The Africa Institute, El Khyari is developing the screenplay for her debut feature film, Shehrazade’s Birds, set in 1950s Casablanca under the French protectorate.
Moroccan filmmaker and artist Sofia El Khyari, the 2025 Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellow at The Africa Institute, celebrates her acclaimed film Shadow of the Butterflies reaching its 100th international festival selection this month. The film also won Best Animation at the Morocco Shorts International Film Festival in Rabat, following a tour that began with its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival.
Moroccan filmmaker and artist Sofia El Khyari, the 2025 Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellow at The Africa Institute, celebrates her acclaimed film Shadow of the Butterflies reaching its 100th international festival selection this month. The film also won Best Animation at the Morocco Shorts International Film Festival in Rabat, following a tour that began with its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival.
This November, El Khyari’s work is featured at exhibitions and film festivals in Canada and Morocco. Her exhibition runs November 4–16, 2025, at the Cinémathèque Québécoise in Montreal as part of the Cinemania Festival, where Morocco is the country of honor. A duo show with filmmaker Sofia Alaoui, it features original paintings from El Khyari’s handmade animated films, following their recent display at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. The exhibition officially opened on November 6.
Her short films are also screening internationally throughout the month, including at Cinemania in Montreal (November 6 & 8), Morocco Shorts in Rabat (November 12), the FIDEC Festival in Tétouan (November 21–26), and Portugal later this month.
During her fellowship at The Africa Institute, El Khyari is developing the screenplay for her debut feature film, Shehrazade’s Birds, set in 1950s Casablanca under the French protectorate.
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