In-person April 21st, 7:00pm - Q&A and Cocktails to follow, tickets $15 - Maysles Documentary Center April 24th, 6:00pm - free tickets - La Maison Française of NYU April 25th, 6:00pm - free tickets - The Columbia Maison Française
All films with English sub-titles
Amani by Aliah Falin, 2021, 17 mins Canada/Quebec-Chad
In this tale, located halfway between reality and fantasy, a mysterious narrator tells us the story of Amani, a young boy passionate about dance. Amani's innocence and zest for life open the narrator's eyes to a humanity he never really cared about before.
But as the night begins to rumble, Amani's joy disappears to give way to his pain which echoes in the silence of the plain.
The Record, Jonathan Laskar, 2022, 9 mins, Switzerland
A traveler offers an antique dealer a magical vinyl. “It reads your mind and plays what you have in mind”. Obsessed with this endless record, the antique dealer listens to it again and again, and the memories resurface.
Empty mails (Courriers vides) by Diane Jesuton Cakpo, 10 mins, Benin
We are in Ouidah, Benin in a village where all the young girls fantasize about the white man. They expect a hypothetical love letter every day, via the postman.
Leave one day (Partir un jour) by Amélie Bonnin, 24 mins, France
With his baccalaureate in hand, Julien left his hometown to build a bigger life in the capital, leaving his memories behind. And then one day, he has to come back, and that day his memories jump in his face, between two packets of nuggets.
Belle River by Guillaume Fournier, 11 mins, Canada/Quebec-Louisiane/USA
2019. Mississippi spring flooding reaches record highs. In Louisiana, the inhabitants of Pierre-Part are preparing for the worst. Barring an unexpected change in the situation, the local authorities will soon be forced to open the gates of the Morganza spillway, in order to protect the cities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge from certain flooding. Faith and resilience are the two best weapons they still have, in the face of uncertainty.
Ma Gueul by Gregory Carnoli & Thibaut Wohfahrt, 2022, 21’ mins Belgium
Stéphane Terrazzi, 35, has been living in Brussels for a short time. He returns to his hometown of La Louvière to see a football match with his childhood friends, Luca and Tony. At the end of the match, they manage to persuade Stéphane to follow them for a trip to a Flemish nightclub, “just like in the good old days”. But the exit does not go as planned: Stéphane is refused entry. It is the beginning of an incredible night that will lead him to discover that we do not choose the way others see us.
The blue hour ( L’heure bleue) by Mathilde Loubes & Antoine Bonnet, 2022, 5 mins, France
An orchestra tunes up on a beach as a storm approaches. The tuning is still ongoing when nature gradually takes over their environment.
The burning roots (Les Racines Ardentes) by Camelia Jordana, 2022, 16 mins, Reunion
After her abrupt departure from Reunion Island when she was a teenager, Inaya no longer thought of returning there. But when her big brother, Ethan, asks her to come back and sing for his son's christening, she thinks it's finally the chance to kill the old demons that haunt the family. It was without counting on Mathis, his little brother, who never accepted his departure and who always refused to face the secret of their separation…
