Born in Fez, Morocco, in 1986, Benlarbi studied at La Fémis in France. As producer, he has worked with filmmakers such as Faouzi Bensaïdi, Philippe Faucon, Leyla Bouzid, Nabil Ayouch, Yasmine Benkiran, Camille Lugan and Kamal Lazraq. In 2018, he directed his first feature film, “Return to Bollène”. “Across the Sea” is his second feature film.