Biography
French journalist and photographer Sylvain Estibal was the publisher of several non-fiction books on deserts, including a collection of interviews with Théodore Monod, renowned expert on deserts and Africa, in 1998. In 2003, Estibal published his first novel, "Le dernier vol de Lancaster". Set in the Sahara, the adventure story about the last days in the life of legendary pilot Bill Lancaster has been made into a movie in 2009, starring Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard.
Since 2007, Estibal has been working as chief editor for the Latin-American photographic department of Agence France-Press. Having reported on differences and similarities between a Palestinian and an Israeli immigrant family as a photo journalist from Hebron in 2004, he also addressed the Middle Eastern Conflict in his debut as a feature film director: "Das Schwein von Gaza" ("When Pigs Have Wings") is about a Palestinian fisherman who catches a live pig and runs into trouble when trying to get rid of the animal, which is considered "unclean" in both the Jewish and the Muslim community. The tragicomedy set up as a political fable was amongst others awarded the French César for best debut feature. It was released in German theatres in the summer of 2012.