Simon Coulibaly Gillard

Aya

Part of

Edition 2022 — Movies
Official Section Panorama
Festival

Aya

Simon Coulibaly Gillard

2021

90 min.

Belgium and France

French

Subtitles: Catalan and English

The coming-of-age story of Aya, a girl from the island of Lahou who lives with her mother near a sea that keeps rising and eats away at her land.

Topic:

Datasheet

Show

Direction

Simon Coulibaly Gillard

Executive Production

Kidam

Sound

Simon Coulibary Gillard

Distribution

Michigan Films

Production

Sébastien Andres, Alice Lemaire & François-Pierre Clavel

Co-production

RTBF - Radio Télévision Belge Francophone, Shelter, Dérives

Script

Simon Coulibary Gillard

Colorgrading

Reda Berbar

Sound editing

Chément Chauvelle

Datasheet

Direction

Simon Coulibaly Gillard

Executive Production

Kidam

Sound

Simon Coulibary Gillard

Distribution

Michigan Films

Production

Sébastien Andres, Alice Lemaire & François-Pierre Clavel

Co-production

RTBF - Radio Télévision Belge Francophone, Shelter, Dérives

Script

Simon Coulibary Gillard

Colorgrading

Reda Berbar

Sound editing

Chément Chauvelle

Synopsis

On the island of Lahou in the Ivory Coast, Aya and her mother are victims of global warming caused by the northern countries. The sea level is slowly rising, pushing the island's inhabitants out of their land. All that remains on the island is a village, a few fishing boats and a cemetery, doomed to disappear under water. A universal story with a magnetic and spirited protagonist, Aya's coming-of-age story and her first love are filmed with unforgettable beauty. A hybrid between reality and fiction that condemns the effects of climate change.

About the direction

Simon Coulibaly Gillard

Director

Born in Bulgaria, Simon Gillard grew up in Brittany. After studying mechanical engineering, he did a...

More info

Awards and festivals

L'ACID Cannes

France, 2021

Festival dei Popoli

Italy, 2021

Watch Docs International Film Festival

Poland, 2021

Olympia International Children Film Festival

Greece, 2021

Simon Coulibaly Gillard

Aya

Watch the trailer→

Reviews

“

Simon Coulibaly Gillard's firts feature film, convinces with Aya's contagious vitality and the beauty of the image and the ocean wind. An ocean as versatile as it's loquacious, which seems to murmur in the ear of its inhabitants. A demiurge ocean, which is responsible for rewriting its destiny. A formal beauty, when we know that the film was shot with a very small team, something we never guessed on the screen.
— Aurore Engelen, Cineuropa

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