Invincible Summer: A poignant and vivid documentary about Charcot disease, a must-see in the cinema

Stéphanie Pilonka, director of Fleur de tonnerre or Le Souffle du dragon, returns to cinema with the poignant documentary Invincible Summer. After delving into the topic of adoption in 2021 with C’est toi que j’attendais, the filmmaker this time paints a portrait of a man battling Charcot disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS).

Imagine the bad news. The kind of news that calls everything into question. Here’s what happened to Olivier Goy one morning in December 2020. In one sentence, the diagnosis is consistent: he probably has only three years to live and no treatment. But Olivier decided to ignore this countdown. He is going to live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment.

The documentary follows Olivier Goy in his new day-to-day life as a technology-obsessed entrepreneur, father and patient with an incurable disease.

Stephanie Pilonka and her team accompany her in a series of portraits and meetings, between Paris, Normandy, Amsterdam and Antarctica. Thus, we will be able to meet the photographer Sebastião Salgado, the winner of Dakar 2020 Axel Alletru or Miss France 2010 Malika Menard.

More intimate encounters are also on the program, notably with monk Mathieu Ricard and Rabbi Delphine Horwiler. Together with Olivier Goy, they reflect the meaning of life and death with those who think about them every day.

For the director and producer of Invincible Summer, the goal is to raise awareness about judging others and ourselves. This is a topic that affects everyone, disabled or not. In this way, the documentary is aimed at a wide audience, who often find their lives ruined by the ill-conceived view of everyday problems.

“Invincible Summer is clearly an ode to life and love. Nothing to be afraid of. Beauty, laughter, a few tears sometimes, but above all a fierce desire to live.”Trusts Stephanie Pilonka.

The director has photographed disability several times and measures the need to protect oneself. From the very first day of shooting, he and his team realized the singularity of the images they were shooting.

“It is extremely atypical to accompany Olivier as he speaks at this special moment in his life. Olivier immediately understood that he had to stay natural and offer us moments of life and joy that we did not expect. Not at all.

At a time in his life when his illness prevents him from expressing himself the way he wants to, Olivier managed to tell us what kind of father, husband and business leader he is. My responsibility was to portray Olivier as close to reality as possible. A creature endowed with an inimitable sense of humor and great joy!”– says the film director.

The documentary was released in theaters on May 31.