“ Behind the Palm Trees ” director Meryem Benm’barek is grappling with mixed emotions as her film prepares for its world premiere at the Marrakech Film Festival .

On one hand, the Moroccan auteur — whose feature debut “Sofia” was celebrated in Un Certain Regard in 2018 — is deeply moved to unveil her latest work in her home country.

“I know my film will be received in the deepest sense here,” she tells Variety.

At the same time, Benm’barek is keenly aware that the versions set for release in Morocco and across the Arab world fall short of her artistic vision. While she reluctantly accepted the minor edits required for Moroccan distribution — mostly trimming wide shots and toning down the more explicit elements of the sex scenes — she describes the version cut down for other MENA

See Full Page