Astrakan
New Directors/New Films 2023
March 29 - April 9, 2023
With his gentle, unhurried, but compelling style, French director David Depesseville takes a largely observational approach to the story of young Samuel (Mirko Giannini), a traumatized orphan on the cusp of teenagehood trying to adjust to life with his new, rural foster family.
Q&A with David Depesseville on March 30 and April 1
This disarming and surprising second film by French director David Depesseville takes a largely observational approach to the story of young Samuel (Mirko Giannini), a traumatized orphan on the cusp of teenagehood trying to adjust to life with his new, rural foster family, headed by the overwhelmed but sympathetic Marie (Jehnny Beth) and the violent Clément (Bastien Bouillon). With an elliptical approach, Depesseville gently touches upon Samuel’s difficulties coming to terms with his remote substitute parents and brothers, his sexual awakening with the girl next door, and, most disturbingly, the improper attention Marie’s troubled brother seems to devote to the boys. With a gentle, unhurried, but compelling style, Depesseville transports the viewer into the boy’s mundane world, while, in a bold stylistic move, also offering the possibility for the child’s spiritual transcendence. An Altered Innocence release.
Filmmaker travel generously supported by Unifrance.
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