North American Premiere
A woman gets interviewed by a young journalist for her heroic act of saving children, but she’s a moody and reluctant participant. A tough and poignant drama about how people are more than their actions, and how heroes can be ordinary people who were not really thinking about the danger they faced. This is a thoroughly enticing story that keeps you on edge with a gripping, eerie, and unpredictable lead character. The sounds of the rushing river and torrential rain build the tense mood and add to the emotional impact. It’s a wonderfully different two-hander with terrific performances that show us different degrees of trauma as the film slowly reveals the act of bravery she still has difficulty talking about.
Community Partner
Pauline Lorillard, Soumaye Bocoum, Damien Lemercier
France
2021
In French with English subtitles
Featured in:
International Shorts: Having a Bad Day
Misadventures, bad choices, and a series of unfortunate events are all present in this program of short films. There is some serious drama and a bit of comedy on display in these exhilarating, thoughtful, and unpredictable tales.
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Calle Málaga
Seventy-nine-year-old María Ángeles lives independently in Tangier's Spanish quarter. When her daughter pressures her into selling her apartment, she refuses to give in, finding in her old age a new resilience and an unexpected romantic connection.
Two Prosecutors
In the midst of Stalin’s purges, a naïve prosecutor sets out to investigate a prisoner’s innocence, unaware of the labyrinthine bureaucracy awaiting him. A Kafkaesque procedural thriller about the pursuit of justice in the face of corruption.
Image: © SBS Productions
Victims of Sin
This movie is a hot scramble of piety and passion, sentimentality and sleaze. Ninón Sevilla plays Violeta, a rumba sensation who oversteps when she rescues a newborn from the trash. This gets her fired and wins the enmity of the pimp who fathered the kid.
The Blue Trail
77-year-old Tereza makes a break for the Brazilian jungle in this trippy septuagenarian fantasy, the latest from Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro is a quirky picaresque, lushly photographed and filled with mordant humour.
Credits
Producer
Thierry Lounas, Claire Bonnefoy
Screenwriter
Julie Debiton
Cinematography
Robin Fresson
Editor
Baptiste Petit-Gats
Original Music
Maurice Marius
Director
Julien Gaspar-Oliveri
Julien Gaspar-Oliveri directed Passe with Laure Calamy and then Villeperdue, a medium-length film released in theatres in 2017. The film received the Jury and Audience awards at the Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur. His short film, L’âge tendre, was broadcast on Arte in 2020, selected by many festivals, and nominated for the 2022 César Awards for Best Short Film. Gaspar-Oliveri also teaches theatre and cinema at the Cours Florent in Paris.