Directing

Gigi Hozimah

Gigi Hozimah is a Saudi-American filmmaker based in Philadelphia with a directing career spanning more than fifteen years. Born in Mecca as the youngest of ten siblings, she lost her parents at an early age but carried forward her mother’s encouragement to pursue art. She later moved to the United Kingdom, earning a BA in Television and Video Production from Southampton Solent University and an MA in Filmmaking from Kingston University. Hozimah began her professional path as a TV host in London before dedicating herself fully to cinema. She founded her production company, Look At The Wall Productions, named after a wall in her apartment covered with film posters that became a daily source of inspiration. Her first feature, He Belongs to Us (2019), positioned her as “the first Saudi woman to direct an art-house horror film.” She went on to make That Abandoned Place (2021), which won the Golden Palm for Best Sound at the Saudi Film Festival. In 2024, her feature It’s Always That Feeling received the Golden Palm for Best Editing.