Patric Chiha

Before directing his first feature-length film, "Domaine," starring French star Béatrice Dalle, Patric Chiha helmed a handful of short films that demonstrated his masterful ability to work with actors. As an ambitious young artist, he moved from Vienna to Paris immediately after high school to attend the art school ESAA Duperré. But film wasn't always his passion; Chiha initially studied fashion design. He soon realized that he could best express himself through filmmaking, and enrolled in the graduate art school INSAS in Belgium to major in Editing. After working as editor, director of photography, and sound engineer on several of his colleagues' projects, Chiha wrote and directed his first short film, "Casa Ugalde," in 2004. Telling the story of a man who invents a tale of lost love after looking over a stranger's photo album, the film established the director's unique and personal stance on filmmaking: "What moves me in a film is not the plot. It's the special way you look at it." Chiha enjoyed the creative control from the director's chair, and continued directing short dramatic films throughout the mid-2000s, including the nostalgia-laden "The Garden" and 2006's mysterious and patient "Home." His projects made many appearances at film competitions, including international festivals in Seattle and Rotterdam, among others. With 2009's "Domaine," Chiha reached new creative heights by landing the opportunity to direct Béatrice Dalle, one of his idols, in a leading role.