A special evening organized by the Francophone Short Films Festival in Harlem. See here other dates and venues. Introduction by Lucie Chabrol-Nyssens, President of the Festival, who will show a best-of of the students' Rough Cut Festival.
Post-screening discussion moderated by Binita Mehta with directors:
- Juliette Boucheny (Ativo)
- Elen Sylla Grolimund (Villa Madjo)
- Brian Hawkins (Les Vouèsins)
Selection of Films (90') - All films are with English subtitles
- Ativo, Juliette Boucheny, 2022, 26’, Togo-France.
Agotimé-Adamé, a village two hours north of Lomé, Togo. Guénolé, a twelve-year-old boy, is gifted with obvious musical talent and dreams of playing the piano but doesn't own one. Supported by his sister Prudence, his grandmother Eternal, and aided by the spirits of nature, Guénolé succeeds in achieving his goal.
- Villa Madjo, Elen Sylla Grolimund, 2024, 13’, Senegal-France-Belgium.
Starting from the observation that her father -who is white- was born in Africa, and that her mother -who is black- was born in Europe, the director reveals the complex history of her family, from colonialism to their experience of the interracial couple in Europe in the 1950's and 70's.
- Eldorado, Mathieu Volpe, 2024, 19’, Belgium.
Awa, a Cameroonian snow groomer operator, helps a determined young migrant cross the border from Italy to France. As their journey unfolds, a poignant story of redemption emerges amid a web of snow and hidden truths.
- Galivan, Myra Lou Anna Thiemard, 2024, 18’, Switzerland.
Sophie travels to Valparaiso, Chile, to meet her family. This new environment and this imminent encounter plunge her into an introspective state that will resurface long-buried feelings. In the city, her Chilean father is everywhere and not as she imagined...
I directed Gavilán surrounded by my family and friends, it was a film that was above all an experience. An experience that makes me know more about my sister, the actress of the film, my family, and learn more about me and about cinema. The story was built over time, events and my inner revelations
- Les Vouèsins, Brian Hawkins, 2024, 15’, USA / Missouri - French Créoles.
When he arrived in the summer of 1934, J. M. Carrière described Old Mines as “a straggling, quiet little village in the foothills of the Missouri Ozarks, about sixty-five miles south of Saint Louis. Scattered all along the countryside, I found six hundred French-speaking families living in this community.”
Carrière sought out the most accomplished storytellers and meticulously transcribed 73 folktales, documenting both the Creoles’ worldview and the local French language, rapidly falling out of use. When researchers returned to the community in the 1970s, many of the stories Carrière collected had already faded from memory. Others left an indelible impression, such as Frank “Boy” Bourisaw’s Le Petit Bœuf aux cornes d’or.
>> More info on Francophone Short Films in Harlem and other dates and venues.
