Nadia Kounda Wins Best Actress at Brussels — A New High for Moroccan Cinema

Nadia Kounda

Moroccan actor-powerhouse Nadia Kounda has just been crowned Best Actress at the 2025 Brussels International Film Festival — for her emotionally charged performance in the 2025 film Les Fourmis, directed by Yassine Fennane. Among a pool of 250 submitted films, Les Fourmis was one of the five feature films selected for the festival’s official international competition.

Why Les Fourmis Resonates

Set in Tangier, Les Fourmis weaves together the lives of three characters — a Cameroonian migrant seeking dignity for a lost friend, a father torn between survival and hope, and a young woman navigating privilege and identity. Through their intersecting journeys, the film addresses intra-African migration with nuance, humanity, and raw emotion — a story rarely seen so intimately on screen.

The film’s 90-minute runtime, layered storytelling, and sterling performances (Kounda’s above all) have made Les Fourmis one of the most internationally selected Moroccan productions of 2025 — already screened in Durban, Paris, and Brussels, with upcoming festival stops slated for London, New York, Nairobi, and Kinshasa.

A Push for Intra-African Stories

With such visibility, Les Fourmis could help shift the narrative away from African films being seen only through euro-centric or diaspora lenses — instead shining a light on the continent’s internal realities.

Nadia Kounda’s victory at Brussels isn’t just a personal triumph — it’s a milestone for Moroccan and North African storytelling. If you believe African cinema still needs to be heard globally, then Les Fourmis and Kounda’s performance are proof that the continent is ready — voice loud, camera rolling, and never looking away.