Ismail Bouderbala El Idrissi is an independent filmmaker and scriptwriter from Morocco. He creates both documentary and surrealist films, often rooted in real-life observation and social reflection.
His short film Education, a surrealist critique of modern education systems, addresses how these systems may sometimes shape individuals into passive workers or turn them against their own communities. The film was selected for the Duemila30 Film Festival in Italy. His other surrealist short film, Once Upon Ereen in Africa, uses real footage of ants to explore ideas of exploitation, poverty, and the legacy of colonialism. It was officially selected at the Saratov Sufferings Documentary Drama Film Festival in Russia and the Kalakari Film Festival in India.
Ismail has directed several documentary films, including The Caravan Before the Quarantine, which documents Fondation YTTO’s outreach to remote Moroccan villages, and The Motherhood & The Childhood, an observational piece following a mother cat and her kitten from birth to separation.
In 2018, he directed and edited There Is No, a documentary made from second-camera footage filmed during the production of a project by the late Moroccan filmmaker Dalila Ennadre. The film was created as part of a learning process, shared for feedback with Dalila and Fondation YTTO.
Ismail continues to work independently, writing and directing films that reflect everyday life, Imagination, question systems, and share perspectives from his surroundings.
