Ben’Imana, 2026 Caméra d’Or: a homecoming preview screening at EICAR
The AFC, the French Society of Cinematographers, held a preview screening at EICAR of Ben’Imana, the debut feature by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, winner of the Caméra d’Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
A screening rich in conversation
The director attended the screening alongside Mostafa El Kashef, EICAR alumnus and the film’s director of photography, joining live from Egypt, and Michel Benjamin, AFC member, longtime EICAR faculty member and a member of the 2026 Caméra d’Or jury.
In a packed theater, where many of EICAR’s international students had taken their seats, the screening was followed by a lively discussion with the filmmakers. Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo spoke in particular about her collaboration with Mostafa El Kashef and the work they did together on the film’s imagery.
The director also appreciated the many questions from the students. It was a different conversation from a general-audience preview, shaped by the perspective of young filmmakers in training, particularly attentive to artistic choices and to how the film was made.
Mostafa El Kashef, from EICAR student to the Caméra d’Or
This preview held special significance for Mostafa El Kashef. Fourteen years ago, the cinematographer got his hands on his first film cameras at EICAR. Today, he returns to meet the students with a film awarded at Cannes.
“EICAR will always be at the beginning of my journey, because it’s the first school where I studied cinema,” he recalled, also mentioning the teachers who taught him how to watch films and his first shooting experiences on campus.
His path also reflects EICAR’s international dimension. A student in the international department himself, Mostafa El Kashef remembers a program that brought together students from all over the world, where learning also meant discovering Chinese, Russian and other cinemas from every continent. An openness that, he says, prepared him to work with directors and crews from different cultures.
The connection with EICAR extends all the way to the Croisette: Michel Benjamin, a faculty member at the school, sat on the jury that awarded the Caméra d’Or to Ben’Imana.
From the alumnus to the international students in the audience, this preview illustrates a single continuity: a school open to the world, where training, transmission and international careers meet.
The international department
Where Mostafa El Kashef’s journey began.
In Paris, EICAR trains filmmakers from all over the world, in programs taught entirely in English.