Fifi at the cinema: a solar film with revelations of therapy and aliens

Jeanne Aslan and Paul Sentillan’s first feature film, Fife, is set in Nancy in early summer. Sophie, known as Fife, 15, is stuck in her low-rent flat in a chaotic family atmosphere.

When she runs into her old friend Jade, who’s supposed to be on vacation, Fife quietly takes the key to downtown, abandoned for the summer.

As she settles in, she meets 23-year-old Stefan, Jade’s older brother, who has unexpectedly returned. Instead of chasing her, Stephen leaves her door open and allows her to come and shelter there whenever she wants.

Directed by the dazzling Celeste Brunkel, previously seen in Les Dazzled, In Therapy and The Origin of Evil, and Quentin Dolmer (Three Memories of My Youth, Aliens and the recent Peace Process), the film tells the story of an ambiguous friendship between. A young girl from a poor background and a student who grew up in a bourgeois family.

Inspired by the director’s memories

The screenplay written by the filmmakers was inspired by the teenage memories of director and screenwriter Jean Aslan, who elaborated in the press kit:

“The film reflects the social background I come from, I’m not completely autobiographical. I wanted to recreate the special atmosphere of the neighborhood where I grew up. The HLM neighborhood, which has nothing to do with the ones you see in the media. Moreover, there are thousands of such cities, mostly Quite peaceful, even deserted, and where the problems are primarily of a financial nature.

But Fifi isn’t really me, and her family isn’t exactly mine. Moreover, I am of Turkish origin, but my daily life was everyone who lived there. We were a couple of families with six or seven children, which means mediocrity, problems, etc. “

And to embody the hero of this incredibly charming film, the duo chose a young man Celeste Brunkel Without having seen his previous performances.

Paul Sentillan says:When we picked it, we hadn’t seen Les Dazzled and the series hadn’t aired in therapy yet. But Celeste has such a presence that we were captivated as soon as we saw her photographed essays.

There was not even the slightest hesitation. Not only did he fit the role, but he also had a natural affinity for Fifi. He embodied it with a gusto and intensity that impressed us..”

As for his playing partner Quentin DolmerNominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actor in 2016 Three memories of my youthThe directors admit that his tone of voice and his presence had a great influence on the character of Stephen.

“We were always delighted to have her with us to play the role of Stephanie. From the moment she took on the role, her presence never ceased to influence the character and the script, always gaining deeper and more psychological depth.

Stephen’s character benefited from his great singularity and that special voice. In some lines, we sometimes felt like we were hearing Charles Danner, an actor we really like.”

Zhanna Aslanadds: “Quentin brings a quirkiness and charm that can make any scene interesting – even when the characters are putting stamps on envelopes!

He also brought some weakness to the character. Finally, what Quentin and Celeste both have in common is that they are sometimes very beautiful, but not always! And this mobility in their physiognomy makes them exciting to photograph and watch.”

of the sun Fife There’s a discovery in your rooms from this Wednesday, June 14.