Jayisha Patel

Jayisha is an award-winning British filmmaker who works at the intersection of cinematic film and virtual reality (VR). Born in London to East African Indian parents, and having spent her formative years making films in Latin America and India, Jayisha's works embody an outwardly international female gaze, often treading the border between fact and fiction. She is known for working with local crew so as to make intimate, layered films that seek to give the audience an emotional, visceral experience. Jayisha's short films and documentaries have premiered at film festivals worldwide including Berlinale, Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance, Locarno, and New York Film Festival amongst others. Her first short film, A Paradise, about a rural Cuban community afflicted by invisible ghosts and a suicide epidemic, premiered at the Berlinale and was nominated for over 37 international awards. She also directed India's Wushu Warriors for Al Jazeera's Witness strand which received over 9 million views upon broadcast, and was awarded the Jury's Special Mention at the Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA). Jayisha's short film, Circle, about a rape survivor, whose ordeal was orchestrated by her grandmother, was nominated for two Griersons and a One World Media Award, and won the David L. Wolper Award at the IDA's and a Silver Bear for 'Best Short' at Chicago International Film Festival, where it was cited by the Jury as a 'Cinematic Masterpiece'. Jayisha also enjoys creating content within the VR space. In 2017, she directed Notes to My Father, an award-winning VR experience commissioned by Oculus from Facebook's VR for Good creative lab. The film, which was cited by VICE as 'groundbreaking', explores the relationship between a survivor of sex trafficking and her father. It was launched at Oculus House during the Sundance Film Festival, was co-produced by Golden Globe and Emmy nominated studio, Flight Studio, and premiered at SXSW and Locarno. The film won several awards including the UN Women Global Voices award for 'Best VR Film', the 'Audience Award' at DOK Leipzig, and was shown to policy advisors fighting gender violence at the World Economic Forum India Summit and at the UN. As a result, Jayisha was featured by The Guardian as a female filmmaker using technology as a medium for the future of storytelling and was named one of Screen's International's 'Stars of Tomorrow'. More recently, Jayisha completed a three-year spell as an Artist in Residence at London's Somerset House, where she started to develop her next VR project, After The Fire, and her debut feature, Amazon, which has received early funding from Arts Council England and the British Film Institute. Jayisha studied at the Cuban International School, Cuba (EICTV) and received her MA in Documentary Direction from the National Film and TV School, UK. In her spare time, she sings Hindustani classical music, dances flamenco, and dreams of becoming a professional dancer by the time she's 80.