Her Lens Her Voice
Pieces of a Foreign Life / L’Étrangère
Gaya Jiji
Director's bio
Gaya Jiji
Gaya Jiji, born in Damascus in 1979 and now based in Paris, is a Syrian filmmaker whose work explores themes of female agency, exile, and resilience. A graduate of Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis with a master’s degree in directing, she began her career with short films such as The Haunted House (2003), The Father… too (2009), and Matin, midi, soir… et matin (2011), which screened at international festivals. She gained wider recognition with her debut feature My Favourite Fabric (2018), selected for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, a bold exploration of female sexuality set against the backdrop of the Syrian conflict. In 2016, she was honored with the Women in Motion Young Talent Award at Cannes. Her latest feature, Pieces of a Foreign Life (2025), continues her focus on identity and displacement, following a Syrian woman rebuilding her life in exile.
Synopsis
Selma flees Syria, leaving behind her husband who has disappeared in one of the regime's prisons and her six-year- old son, Rami. Arriving in Bordeaux after a dangerous journey, she begins to work clandestinely while she undertakes a new battle to request asylum and reunite her family. When she gets to know Jérôme, a lawyer who can help her, an unexpected relationship evolves, and everything she has built to survive gets even more complex
Details of Cast
Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Alexis Manenti, Amr Waked, Megan Northam
Details of Crew
DoP: Antoine Héberlé Editor: Anne Souriau Music: Valentin Hadjadj Sound Design: Philippe Charbonnel, Renaud Guillaumin, Yves Renard, Philippe van Leer
Producer Details
Laurent Lavolé, Gilles Sacuto, Miléna Poylo
Writer Details
Gaya Jiji, Sarah Angeleni
Stills
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