Hayet Benkara
Hayet Benkara is a French-born, Toronto and Europe-based film industry adviser. For over 15 years she had the privilege to work with stellar individuals at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), under the stewardship of Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey.
She was manager of the unofficial market and manager of TIFF Studio, the first year-round training programme for film professionals (producers, directors, and screenwriters) still running until this day. She also produced TIFF Talent Lab which takes place during the festival.
In 2024 she was appointed Head of The Meetings on the Bridge
Benkara worked for many prestigious International film festivals such as Cannes, Berlinale, IFFR and its co-production market CineMart, Locarno Open Doors, Marrakech Film Festival - Atlas Ateliers, Doha Film Institute - Qumra, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Guanajuato (Mexico), New Horizon Film Festival (Poland) just to name a few.
In 2021, she launched Le FNC Nouveau Marché, the new co-production market at the Festival du nouveau cinema in Montreal. Because of her extensive international network and holistic approach to the film industry, she is often invited to conduct workshops and/or moderate panels on topics related to the film industry.
Year round she advises young and established filmmakers and producers on development, production, co-production, distribution, marketing, and festival strategies.
Expertise
Production, Sales, Acquisition and Marketing, Film festivals, Development
Territories
World
Pro Hub mentors 2024
Expert mentors provide guidance to filmmakers with films in the selection.