About this submission

At the beginning of summer, Adam, Ana, and Dahlia turn to families and friends to question their cultural heritage. Through tender conversations, Here and There juxtaposes the different influences that steer the blossoming of the cultural identities of second and third-generation immigrants. Told from the point of vue of its protagonists, the film delves deep into the heart of their experiences, shedding light on the fragile balance between their parents' memories of a distant homeland and their own desires to belong to a society that may not always reflect their backgrounds.

Chadi Bennani

Creator

Chadi Bennani graduated in 2022 from the film program at Université du Québec à Montréal. During his studies, he directed his first short film, NICOLE (2023), which was presented in the Best Short Film competition at Hot Docs 2023. After his studies, Chadi directed his first fiction short film, BONDS (2023), which was selected for the official competition at FICFA 2023. Recipient of the Regard sur Montréal residency in 2023, Chadi directed his award-winning documentary short film, HERE AND THERE (2023), which was featured as the opening film at the 26th edition of the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM), screened at the United Nations’ 2024 Global Migration Film Festival, and the 23rd edition of the DOXA Documentary Film Festival. Chadi is currently working on a feature-length documentary titled BEYOND THE WAVES, a project that won the NFB Award at the Doc Lab Montréal 2023 at the RIDM Forum. In parallel with his career as a director, Chadi also works as a cinematographer. In 2022, he was selected as a recipient of the Grants for Emerging Talent program awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, a grant which allowed him to intern with André Turpin during the filming of THE NATURE OF LOVE (2023), directed by Monia Chokri. As a cinematographer, he collaborates on both fiction and documentary, short and feature-length film projects. Embracing a naturalistic approach through his use of the camera, his work blurs the line between reality and fiction. He is also involved in several short films currently in development.