Gaya Jiji (born 1979) is a Syrian filmmaker working in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. She is the director of ''
My Favourite Fabric
''My Favourite Fabric'' () is a 2018 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Gaya Jiji. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
Cast
* Metin Akdülger as The dream man
* Manal Issa as Nahla
...
'' (2018).
Gaya Jiji was born in 1979 in
Damascus
Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
, Syria. She earned a master's degree from
Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis
Paris 8 University (), or usually the University of Vincennes in Saint-Denis or Paris 8, is a public university in the Greater Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public institution.
It is base ...
. She was awarded the Women in Motion Young Talent Award at the
2016 Cannes Film Festival
The 69th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian filmmaker George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and ...
.
Her feature film debut was ''My Favourite Fabric'' (2018), an exploration of female sexuality and self-expression set in Damascus in 2011.
Manal Issa
Manal Issa is a Lebanese-French actress.Manal Issa IMDB
Issa was born on March 9, 1992,''Un certain regard'' section of the
2018 Cannes Film Festival
The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 8 to 19 May 2018. Australian actress Cate Blanchett served as jury president for the main competition. Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda won the ''Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, fo ...
.
She is working on a second feature film, ''The Stranger.''
Filmography
* “The Haunted House” (15 mn, 2003)
* “The Father… too” (15 mn, 2009)
* ''Matin, midi, soir... et matin''/“Morning, Noon, Evening… and Morning” (19 mn, 2011)
* ''Mon tissu préféré/
My Favourite Fabric
''My Favourite Fabric'' () is a 2018 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Gaya Jiji. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
Cast
* Metin Akdülger as The dream man
* Manal Issa as Nahla
...