To see in the cinema: A portrait of a woman facing the difficulties of the agricultural world, which inspires admiration!

If you can find it in the cinema today, Anais, Chapter 2 is primarily the story of the meeting of the director Marion Gervais with a young farmer who lives not far from his home. Perhaps a twist of fate, a wonderful friendship indeed.

In 2013, Marion Gervais presented to the public her first documentary, Anaïs s’en va-en guerre, in which she paints a portrait of this woman, whom she describes as. “All over the place, sunny, fun, rock and roll, rebel. Fresh air in a mixed world. free girl.”

With almost 1 million views online, selected for multiple festivals and awarded the Étoile de la Scam, her film looks to the harsh reality of the agrarian world to follow the snared journey of Anaïs, determined to cultivate it. Aromatic plants and their sale.

At the age of 24, nothing can stop him. Neither the administration, nor misogynistic teachers, nor the discomfort of the time… Despite doubts, anxiety, moral and physical fatigue, lack of financial support, Anais stubbornly and passionately continues the project. It is necessary for him. “If I didn’t make it, I honestly don’t know what I would have done with my life. he announces to the camera. This job allows him to feel free, free to choose to get up in the morning, free to do things without imposing a life that does not suit him.

And love in all this?

10 years later, Marion Gervais reunites with Anais for a second documentary in which she opens the doors of her rather lonely everyday life to another person. In Anaïs s’en va amour, the director narrates the farmer’s new struggle: Anaïs is now married to Seydoux, a young Senegalese man she met during her travels, but the latter’s settlement in France is compromised by strict legal boundaries. They will have to raise their hands together.

“I love to capture those moments when existence opens up a field of possibilities and narrates the main stages of life, at full speed: love, breakup, first job, betrayal, death. They are universal and a mirror for us. emphasizes the director.

Alongside her daily life in the fields, Anais must once again fight with the administrative services, this time to allow the man she loves to join her. Marion Gervais takes her and Seydoux through this difficult ordeal, which can sometimes damage their relationship. The director is never far away, both in the most difficult and beautiful moments, sometimes surprisingly simple.

Today, these 2 chapters of Anais’s life are one in the cinema, united in the same film. The suggestion of producer Juliette Guigon, which was obvious to Marion Gervais after viewing.

“Discovering 10 years of simple and combative life unfolding before my eyes in 1 hour and 44 minutes touched me deeply and challenged me to the power of documentary film. Documentary cinema allows us to get fates, struggles, fights and stories in a very sensitive way. It’s about experience” he says.

Now it’s your turn to meet this farmer in the amazing portrait of humanity painted by Marion Gervais in the documentary Anaïs, Chapter 2, in theaters today!