Bio
Sélim Benzeghia is an award-winning French-Algerian documentary director, producer, cinematographer and impact strategist, based in New York.
Sélim Benzeghia (he/him) is a French-Algerian director, producer and cinematographer based in New York, working between the US and France, with projects in Latin America and North Africa. A National Geographic Explorer and co-founder of Koudéta Films, he makes documentaries on climate justice, human rights and forced migration. His credits include work for Nova Productions, France Télévisions, LCP and Radio Nova.
His documentary A Slide and Barbed Wires (2024) aired on French national television and played a role in a UNICEF-backed impact campaign on the detention of migrant children in France. He co-directed the short film Enraizados (Our Roots Remain), supported by The Redford Center, which premiered at COP29 and screened at Mountainfilm. His feature documentary in production, Green Gold, received a Special Mention at the 2026 Gotham Week Honors.
His work has been supported by the CNC Diversity Fund, The Rogovy Foundation, The Redford Center, AlterCiné Foundation, Creative Europe MEDIA and JustFilms / Ford Foundation. He was a resident at the 2023 Documentary Campus Masterschool and IDFAcademy 2024, and is a member of Collectif 50/50 and the Video Consortium.
GRANTS & HONORS
2026
- Special Mention, Gotham Week Honors – Documentaries (Green Gold)
- Gotham Week Project Market (Green Gold)
- CPH:FORUM, CPH:DOX (Green Gold)
- Cannes Docs Co-Pro Social Club, Marché du Film (Green Gold)
2024
- Climate Solutions Grant, The Redford Center (Enraizados)
- IDFA Forum & IDFAcademy (Green Gold)
- The Redford Center Grantee (Green Gold)
- The Rogovy Foundation Miller Fund (Green Gold)
2023
- Masterschool Selection, Documentary Campus – Creative Europe Media (Green Gold)
2022
- Kellogg Research Fellowship (Green Gold)
- CNC National Centre of Cinematography Animated Pictures / Region Grand Est (A Slide and Barbed Wires)
2021
- Global Campus of Human Rights/Right Livelihood Foundation (A Slide and Barbed Wires)
- Mentee Collectif 50/50
2018
- Grant Laureate Institute of Engagement/Em Lyon Business School
2016
- Laureate Institute of Engagement
FESTIVAL FEATURES & AWARDS
"Enraizados" (2024-2025)
- Winner – Horizon Award (under 30), Climate Film Festival, New York (2025)
- Winner – Documentary Short, Films for the Forest (2025)
- Winner – Weaving Indigenous Perspectives category & People's Choice Award, SER2025 Film Festival, Denver (2025)
- Winner – Korea Gyeonggi International Film Festival for SDGs (SDGsFF)
- Official Selection – Mountainfilm Festival: The Long & Short of It
- Official Selection – MIC Género Muestra Internacional de Cine con Perspectiva de Género
- Official Selection – ECOador Festival Internacional de Cine Ambiental
- Official Selection Human Rights Film Festival - Constitution Hill
- COP29 Extreme Hangout "Indigenous-Led Climate Action and the Power of Storytelling"
- Official Selection – CineEco International Environmental Film Festival of Serra da Estrela (2025)
- Official Selection – Climate Future Film Festival, New Bedford (2025)
- Official Selection – La Sur Real Film Festival (2025)
- Official Selection – Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival, TIEFF (2025)
"A Slide and Barbed Wires" (2024-2025)
- Finalist – Woman, Life, Freedom Film Festival (2025)
- Semi-Finalist – HECare Film Festival (Human-Environment Care Film Festival, HECFF) (2025)
- Official Selection – Human Screen Festival
- Official Selection – Festival Migrant’scène
- Prix Média – Enfance Majuscule (2025)