The second week of screenings for the 2020 UniFrance Short Film Awards, aimed at the industry's professional network, features seven films including two titles that have never been screened before and four debut films.
A director whose animations have toured the world and met with resounding success—including Madagascar, carnet de voyage, which was nominated for an Oscar in 2011—Bastien Dubois is a front-line player in the animation scene. He is one of the filmmakers in selection at the 2020 UniFrance Short Film Awards with Souvenir Souvenir, a sensitive and highly personal evocation of the Algerian War. It is an endeavor to find out more about what his grandfather went through and what he did in the war. What remains in the souls of the Frenchmen who took part in this war, and what have they passed on to younger generations?
A day spent with Miss, the only child in a village. We are in the desert. Miss invents games for herself and explores the world around her. In this film, Amira-Géhanne Khalfallah paints an original and touching portrait of a solitary young girl who is able to see the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Anthony Lemaitre offers us his debut film with Intermission. It's about unintentionally finding oneself watching a great classic of auteur cinema and becoming spellbound by it, reflecting on life thanks to a film. This is the remarkable experience that Yacine will live through and share with us after he watches a screening of Vittorio De Sica's masterpiece, The Bicycle Thief.
Tender Age by Julien Gaspar-Oliveri plunges us into the trials and tribulations of adolescence. Trying to free herself from her mother's clutches, Diane is provocative, eager for attention. One timeless weekend she lives "like a grown-up", discovering her body, her sexuality, and realizing her own fragility.
The Dream of B. Soares, an experimental animated film, is a free adaptation of The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa. The question of the meaning of existence is brought to life by Thibault Chollet in his unsettling drawings that place the accent on the multiple directions that a life can take. A poetic stroll that explores one of the infinite interpretations of a dream.
A young woman is faced with the difficulties of becoming part of her future husband's family. Today is their wedding day, Anna and Ismael are going to be united for better or for worse. But nothing goes according to plan. Aïn is the first professional film by Colia Vranici, a bittersweet drama that tugs at the heartstrings.
Through Jann by Claire Juge is an animated documentary that is a portrait of a dancer who describes herself as being "walked through by others and by herself." Between her mind that is constantly questioning everything and her body that sometimes lets her down, Jann tries to find a balance. And we dance along with her!
If you have any problems accessing the short films, please contact the UniFrance Short Film Department by email: courtmetrage@unifrance.org
Souvenir Souvenir (2020)
Animation – Psychological drama – Portrait – 15 mins
Language: French with English subtitles
Themes: War – Family
Producer: Eldorado Production (Amiel Tenenbaum)
Sales agent: Miyu Distribution (Luce Grosjean)
Synopsis
For ten years, I pretended I wanted to get my grandfather to share his memories of the Algerian War. Today, I’m not sure I want to hear what he has to say, or whether I want to make this film at all.
Miss (2019)
Fiction – Research – Essay – 12 mins
Language: Arabic with French and English subtitles
Themes: War – History – Wandering
Producers: Paraiso Production (Nathalie Trafford) – Prolégomènes (Jaber Debzi)
Synopsis
Miss is the only child in the village. She spends her time wandering in the desert and inventing games in a dying oasis.
Intermission (2020) – First film
Fiction – Comedy – 16 mins
Language: French with English subtitles
Theme: Cinema
Producers: Tripode Productions (Guillaume Dreyfus)
Sales agent: Shortcuts (Élise Notseck)
Synopsis
No matter the cost, Yacine and his two pals want to see Fast & Furious 8 at the multiplex in the high-rise suburb where they live. Unfortunately for them, they can only afford to see the cine-club session. For Yacine, what was meant to be a strategy transforms into an amazing experience.
Tender Age (2020)
Fiction – Psychological drama – 26 mins
Language: French with English subtitles
Themes: Adolescence – Family – Femininity – Freedom
Producer: Melocoton Films (Hélène Mitjavile)
Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Diane exists exclusively through her mother's gaze. But this intensely close bond between Diane and her mother, Sophie, is becoming increasingly problematic for the teenager. At high school, she would like to be loved like she is at home and expresses it in an awkward way, like when she exchanges a favor for a look, in the toilets. A loudmouth, provocative, and seeking attention, Diane tries to stand apart from her mother and wishes, during a weekend, to live like an adult.
The Dream of B. Soares (2019)
Animation – Experimental – Literary adaptation – Strange – 5 mins
Language: French with English subtitles
Loosely based on The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa
Producers: GASP! (Clémence Marcadier – Olivier Chabalier) – TLM (Jean-Pierre Vacher)
Synopsis
I am like a pendulum that can’t stop swinging, always moving but never arriving.
Aïn (2019) – First film
Fiction – Romance – 21 mins
Language: French and Arabic, with French and English subtitles
Producers: Barney Production (Saïd Hamich Benlarbi – Sophie Penson) – Mont Fleuri Production (Morocco)
Sales agent: Shortcuts (Élise Notseck)
Synopsis
It's Anna and Ismael's big day. They're going to be united for better or for worse. First stop: Ismael's aunt Salima's house for the religious ceremony. But when Salima finds out that her car has been towed away, the whole ceremony turns sour.
Through Jann (2020)
Documentary – Animation – 24 mins
Language: French with English subtitles
Themes: Dance – Spirituality
Producers: Novanima (Marc Faye)
Sales agent: Novanima (Maria Pia Santillo)
Synopsis
Jann Gallois is a dancer and choreographer. At 29 years old, she is as energetic as a bulldozer. Her body is her instrument, but sometimes it fails her. Jann constantly seeks balance between a questioning mind and a body that doesn’t always listen.
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