Ivory Coast, Belgium and France / 2021 / 90mins / Drama / Avikam

Young Aya lives with her mother on the island of Lahou. Joyful and carefree, she loves picking coconuts and sleeping in the sand. However, her paradise is doomed to disappear under the water. As the waves threaten her home, Aya makes a decision—the sea level may rise, but she won’t leave her island.

Simon Coulibaly Gillard

After five years of scientific studies, Simon Gillard decided to buy his first camera and move to Brussels to study for a master's in Filmmaking. In 2013, his first documentary Anima was selected at many festivals including the FID Marseille, Bilbao IFD. In 2014, he made a second short documentary Yaar (2013). This film found its way to over 60 festivals worldwide and won nearly 20 awards and honourable mentions. It won Best Short Documentary at the prestigious Dei Popoli Festival in Florence and the award for best cinematography at FIFF in Namur. His 2017 film Boli Bana, premiered at IFF Rotterdam. Aya (2021) has won several awards including the Audience Award at the Festival International du Film Insulaire and the Green Dog Award at Watch Docs International Film Festival. Learn More