We Could Be Heroes

Azzidine and Youssef are passionate about shot put. While Azzedine is the current world champion, his childhood friend Youssef is quite new in the game. Their goal is the Olympic Games in Rio. The problem is that they are competing on the Paralympic side, and the situation for disabled athletes in Morocco are, to put it mildly, challenging. Without either a professional support team, training facilities, or sufficient finances, the path towards the podium seems hopelessly long. But the Moroccan friends are used to fighting a fierce fight against discrimination and visibility in a society that has a long way to go towards ending up on the podium for inclusion of disabled people. Director Hind Bensari has made a heart-warming documentary about talent, camaraderie, discrimination and determination. An important film that is both touching and upsetting when we learn about the unfair treatment of the courageous athletes.

Hind Bensari is born in Casablanca and grew up in London. She returned to Morocco after quitting her job in the UK, to produce her first documentary 475: Break the Silence. The film won critical acclaim from The New York Times and became an internet sensation. We Could Be Heroes premiered at Hot Docs in Toronto, where it received the Best International Documentary Award.