Mes provinciales

Filled with expectations, Etienne moves to Paris from Lyon to study film directing at the Sorbonne. He leaves behind his girlfriend Lucie, promising to call her regularly via Skype. On his course he meets Jean-Noël and Mathias, they too have come to the metropolis from smaller cities and share his passion for cinema. Together they discuss the cinematic canon, read texts by Flaubert and Pasolini, and listen to Bach and Mahler. Jean-Noël proves to be an agreeable friend who tries to strengthen Etienne’s fragile self-confidence; Mathias, on the other hand, often comes across as stern, aloof and mysterious. Fond of arguing, he has a habit of disappearing for weeks on end without the others knowing where he is. Nobody gets to see his student film, either. Etienne is particularly crestfallen when he discovers by chance that Mathias shares a secret with Annabelle, an idealistic young woman who lives in Etienne’s shared flat and with whom he is secretly in love. Jean Paul Civeyrac’s tenderly melancholic black-and-white study of these young people’s encounter with art and life is at the same time a declaration of love for classic cinema and the city of Paris.

details

  • Runtime

    136 min
  • Country

    France
  • Year of Presentation

    2018
  • Year of Production

    2018
  • Director

    Jean Paul Civeyrac
  • Cast

  • Production Company

    Moby Dick Films
  • Berlinale Section

    Panorama
  • Berlinale Category

    Feature Film

Biography Jean Paul Civeyrac

Born in Firminy, France in 1964, he studied philosophy at the University of Lyon III and then directing at La Fémis film school. From 1999 to 2010 he co-led the school’s department of film direction together with Claire Simon. He has been teaching film at the University of Paris VIII since 2011. He is recognised as one of the most important proponents of the French Nouvelle Vague.

Filmography Jean Paul Civeyrac

2001 Fantômes | 2003 Toutes ces belles promesses | 2014 Mon amie Victoria