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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The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life follows Jack as he reflects on his 1950s Texas childhood and the death of his younger brother. Deeply spiritual and poetic, Malick’s film moves through grief, memory, time, and space. And there are dinosaurs.
Sometimes, I Imagine Them All at a Party
Fourteen years ago, Daniela Magnani Hüller survived an attempted femicide by a schoolmate. Now a filmmaker, she revisits the events surrounding that fateful incident, creating a moving collage of interviews, personal recollections, and archival material.
Image: © Bildersturm
Queen at Sea
An academic is pitted against her stepfather in a moral crisis over the care of her mother, who lives with dementia. Winner of the Silver Bear Jury Prize and Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance at the 2026 Berlinale.
Image: © Seafaring
The Story of Documentary Film – The 2000s
The Story of Documentary Film – The 2000s enters a decade shaped by 9/11, war, fear, and politics. Through films such as The Cove and Grizzly Man, these chapters trace the documentary medium's encounter with modernity as it begins to unravel.
Image: © Iraq in Fragments, 2006, dir. James Longley, USA, Daylight Factory Typecast-Pictures
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.