Houda Benyamina born 30 November 1980 is a FrenchMoroccan director and screenwriter She was born in ViryChâtillon France to a Moroccan family Her younger sister Oulaya Amamra is an actress Benyaminas debut feature film Divines was critically acclaimed It was an official selection of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and received the Cannes Film Festival Camera dOr Among other accolades were three César Awards including Best First Feature Film and four other nominations a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film a Munich Film Festival CineVision Award and two Lumières trophies