Amandine Gay

Amandine Gay (1984, France) divides her time between filmmaking, writing and social activism. Director and producer of the documentaries Ouvrir la voix (2017) and Une histoire à soi (2021), she is also the author of several essays, including Une poupée en chocolat (La Découverte, 2021). A militant activist and a key promoter of Mois des Adopté·es, she defines her approach as that of a political writer. In 2025, she published her second essay, Vivre, libre (La Découverte), while her first documentary series, Ballroom, was broadcast on France Télévisions. In 2026, the Italian edition of her first essay was published by Fandango.

Her residency project is the screenplay for a speculative, fictional feature film about the life of Bakhita, a young woman of Sudanese origin who was enslaved from childhood and who, in 1889, was granted the right to remain in Italy to enter a convent. Bakhita was later canonised in the year 2000, becoming the first modern Catholic saint from sub-Saharan Africa. With this project, entitled Servante, Sainte, Femme?, Amandine Gay continues her exploration of the concept of freedom for Black women in Europe. Her work strives to restore full agency to this historical figure, moving beyond the roles of saint or servant that have been attributed to her over time.