IN CONVERSATION WITH AYMEN IFANGUER
On storytelling, survival, family, and the desire to move forward
Cinema has always occupied a quiet but important space in Aymen Ifanguer’s life. Before filmmaking became a craft, it was first an emotional connection, a fascination with stories, visuals, music, and the way films could make people feel something deeply human.
Over time, that fascination evolved into a much larger journey shaped by family expectations, personal experiences, survival, and a growing desire to tell stories that feel honest and real.
Today, storytelling sits at the center of the way he understands creativity, identity, and purpose.
Following a path that was never planned
Like many students with strong academic results, Aymen initially followed a path associated with stability and conventional success. He eventually studied at ENCG, even though art and performance had always been part of his life.
“Man, honestly… I did ENCG because my parents didn’t allow me to study art. And I don’t blame them, it came from a good place. I was a physics kid, good grades, so in their eyes I was gonna be a doctor or an engineer. That was the vision for me.”
At the same time, cinema never really left him. He had already been doing theatre from a young age, but without industry connections, entering the creative world felt difficult and inaccessible.
“I had all this passion and zero connections. So I taught myself filmmaking just so I could film my own acting.”
What began as a practical solution unexpectedly turned into something much deeper.
“I had no idea I was gonna fall in love with filmmaking itself. That part caught me off guard.”
A moment that reshaped everything
Certain experiences permanently change the way people see life. For Aymen, one of those moments came through a serious accident that forced him to confront existence, vulnerability, and purpose in an entirely different way.
“When your life is going good, like genuinely good, and then the next day you wake up in a coma with a broken skull… man, you start questioning everything. Your whole existence.”
The experience deeply shifted his perspective, not only creatively, but personally and emotionally as well. Recovery became an ongoing process, while family became an even more important source of strength and grounding.
“Hamdulillah, God gave me my family in those moments, opened my eyes to things I was probably too busy to see before, and just… gave me another life. Literally another life.”
For him, surviving something like that inevitably transforms a person.
“You can’t go through something like that and come out the same person.”
The influence of family and sacrifice
Family occupies a central place in Aymen’s story and creative identity. Much of the way he understands resilience and sacrifice comes directly from watching his parents’ journey.
His father, originally from the mountains, moved to Casablanca and started freelancing at a very young age, drawing logos and signs for local businesses simply to earn enough money to go to the cinema.
“Six years old. That’s not a childhood, that’s survival.”
His mother also experienced difficult beginnings, and together, both parents built their lives around creating opportunities for their children rather than themselves.
“Everything they built, every sacrifice they made, it wasn’t for them. It was for us.”
His father’s relationship with art also left a strong impression on him. Despite being deeply creative, survival often had to come before artistic ambition.
“You couldn’t always choose passion over bread.”
Telling stories that feel real
As a storyteller, Aymen feels most connected to stories rooted in identity, family, and lived experience. The emotional complexity of people’s lives is what draws him most creatively.
“The ones that really pull at me, the ones I have to tell, are the real ones. A person and their family. Where they came from. What shaped them.”
This same desire for honesty and authenticity pushed him to create Fhemni, a platform centered around real conversations and human stories.
“I wanted a space where real people could sit down and share their real stories. No filters, no scripts. Just truth.”
Moroccan stories, in particular, occupy an important place in the way he sees storytelling and cinema.
“There’s something about Moroccan stories specifically that I think the world isn’t ready for yet. The depth, the complexity, the warmth…”
For him, storytelling becomes meaningful when people recognize themselves within it.
Following instinct and staying open
Aymen does not approach creativity through rigid formulas. Every project begins differently, sometimes through emotion, sometimes through a visual, and other times through a feeling that cannot yet be explained.
“Sometimes it starts with a visual. Just one image.”
He is fascinated by the unpredictable nature of inspiration and the way ideas can emerge from the smallest moments.
“Creativity can come from anywhere. A smell. A conversation. A feeling you can’t even name yet. You just have to stay open.”
Rather than forcing creativity into structure too early, he prefers allowing instinct and emotion to guide the process naturally.
Redefining success through movement
Over time, Aymen’s understanding of success has evolved beyond achievement in the traditional sense. What matters most to him today is growth, movement, and continuing to create.
“For me, success has always been doing what you love and committing to being great at it.”
After everything he experienced, he no longer sees success as a destination. One idea, in particular, has become central to the way he approaches life.
“The opposite of depression is not happiness. It’s movement.”
For him, movement means continuing to evolve, learn, create, and stay connected to what makes life meaningful.
A desire to open doors
Cinema is now the direction calling him most strongly, not only as a personal ambition, but as part of a larger vision for Moroccan storytelling.
“I can’t wait to start making movies. Like real films. That’s what’s calling me right now.”
His goal is not simply to create films, but to help bring authentic Moroccan stories to a wider global audience.
“I want to be the one that puts Moroccan stories on a worldwide stage.”
At the same time, he hopes to help younger creatives navigate paths that once felt inaccessible to him.
Sharing knowledge, opening doors, and creating opportunities for others are all part of that vision.
Because for Aymen, storytelling is not only about creating films.
It is about creating connection, meaning, and possibility.
It is about creating connection, meaning, and possibility.
And above all, continuing to move forward.
Photos & Videos : Aymen Ifanguer