Film Countries Archives: France

< Back to CineYouth schedule

CineYouth Program

Odysseys: Drama

  Canada, France, United States     5 shorts | 63 minutes

Screenings & Events

Virtual Screening

Available to stream globally April 22 @ 12:00pm CT through April 28 @ 11:59pm CT for a 48-hour watch window.

Synopsis

Follow along on the eclectic journeys of vibrant characters as they face the trials and tribulations of their lives. Travel back to 1940’s France, race alongside a fugitive teen, or come of age with a crew of misfit girls in this selection of bold and inventive works by the next generation of narrative storytellers.

Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages.

Films

Two young women peer curiously into a fish tank.

The Damp Season

Olivia Huilin Gao | New York | Age 21

In this drama about family ties, a young girl comes across the teenaged version of her immigrant mother from whom she has long been estranged. A newfound empathy for her mother leads them to reconnect.

A group of young girls sit in a large, otherwise empty grassy field.

Caterpillars House (Lou, notre maison s’envole)

Juliette Balthazard | Canada | Age 22

A young girl, soon to move away from her hometown, runs away with her best friends. But as each friend slowly abandons the plan, the girl is forced to accept her reality and the heartbreak of losing friendships.

A boy peers nervously out a window, light reflecting across his face.

Recollect

Eli Akio Williams | California | Age 16

A boy wakes up in a desert with no recollection of what happened to him. He hitchhikes back to town and comes to a horrifying realization as he begins to remember the actions that led him to this car.

Three teenaged friends sit next to each other. One girl stares at another, unbeknownst to them.

Space Coast

Caroline Bates | Florida | Age 21

A group of friends come to terms with the end of childhood in a dying tourist town home to the former space program.

Two boys in 1940s clothing sit against a tree, reading a pamphlet.

On the paths awakened (Sur les sentiers éveillés)

Axel Dahan | France | Age 17

In WW2 France, two teenagers are employed to deliver messages for the Resistance. Their journey will be long and arduous and not without moral dilemma, but they must push on, for liberty’s sake.

< Back to main Festival page

Shorts 2: Animation – Desires

  Various

  Argentina, Belgium, France, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, The Netherlands, United States     76 minutes

Synopsis

These animated shorts create an idiosyncratic mosaic of the difficulties, joys, enigmas, and triumphs of the human experience. Featuring works by Nienke Deutz, Osman Cerfon, Patricio Plaza, Flóra Anna Buda, Tzor Edery, Tom Prezman, Vishavjit Singh, and Ryan Westra.

The Miracle (Belgium, The Netherlands, France) is a hotel where Irma, a 40-year-old woman surrounded by families, tries to find comfort in her solitary life. Children display varied emotions with a singular expression in Aaaah! (France). An ailing priest in the Mexican colonial era is given a medicine that confronts him with his spiritual ailments in Carne de Dios (Argentina, Mexico). On the day that Alice turns 27 (France, Hungary), a drunken accident makes her question the choices she has made in her life thus far. Remembrances of a former drag queen’s experience in one of the first queer bars in Paris are imaginatively told in Maurice’s Bar (France, Israel). Based on true events, American Sikh (U.S.) tells the story of a courageous man in post-9/11 New York City who faced prejudice and racism with humor and heroism.

 Arabic, Dutch, English, French, Hungarian, Spanish with subtitles 

Content Considerations
Violence, gendered violence, and racial violence
Learn about Festival content considerations...

Screenings & Events

Virtual Screening

This program will be available to stream from October 16 at 12:00pm CT to October 22 at 11:59pm CDT.

Sponsors

Accessibility Partner

logo: Periscope Post & Audio 308x100

< Back to main Festival page

Shorts 8: Architecture – Versions of Home

  Various

  France, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Ukraine, United States     77 minutes

Synopsis

In celebration of this year’s Chicago Architecture Biennial, this program tracks how we establish strong connections to a place, and the complications of staying in it. Featuring works by Camille Authouart, Mariia Ponomarova, Lloyd Lee Choi, and Ufuoma Essi.

An artist explores, observes, and draws scenes of La Défense, a neighborhood west of Paris whose large-scale public artworks constitute the largest open-air museum in Europe, in The Great Arc (France). Former residents remember happier times in a beloved apartment in Three Windows on South West (The Netherlands, Ukraine). Closing Dynasty (U.S.) follows a day in the life of a streetwise kid named Queenie as she navigates her own path through New York City. And Is My Living In Vain (U.K., France, New Zealand) explores the Black church as a site of personal and political belonging through portraits of communities across west Philadelphia and southeast London.

 French, Mandarin, Russian, Ukrainian with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Virtual Screening

This program will be available to stream from October 16 at 12:00pm CT to October 22 at 11:59pm CDT.

< Back to main Festival page

Shorts 5: Drama – Breaking Points

  Various

  Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, France, Qatar, Switzerland, Turkey     95 minutes

Synopsis

These powerful shorts reflect on life’s twists and turns, exploring what we do in moments of profound impact. Featuring works by Valeria Hofmann, Kasım Ördek, Anya Chirkova, Meran Ismailsoy, Jorge Cadena, and Morad Mostafa.

A gamer reveals the sexist harassment and threats she receives from online trolls and finds they infiltrate more than just her computer in the tense thriller AliEN0089 (Chile, Argentina). A young couple is brought to a breaking point when their lifestyle of stealing cars goes too far in Together, Alone (Turkey, France). An Iranian immigrant enlists his son’s help to negotiate with his landlord with both disastrous and humorous results in Baba (Canada). In Flores del otro Patio (Colombia, Switzerland), a group of queer activists in the north of Colombia uses fearless performance art and direct action to protest the region’s largest coal mine. In the aftermath of a violent incident, a 17-year-old must do all he can to protect his family before it’s too late in the stunning and impactful I Promise You Paradise (Egypt, France, Qatar).

 Arabic, English, Persian, Spanish, Turkish with subtitles 

Content Considerations
Stalking, violence
Learn about Festival content considerations...

Screenings & Events

Virtual Screening

This program will be available to stream from October 16 at 12:00pm CT to October 22 at 11:59pm CDT.

Sponsors

Film Supporters

Logo: Canada 313x100

< Back to main Festival page

Shorts 3: After Dark – Twisted Tales & Shadows of Innocence

  Various

  Canada, France, United States     89 minutes

Synopsis

These tense and terrifying shorts reflect how everyday life can turn into horror. Featuring works by Joséphine Darcy Hopkins, Olivia Loccisano, Stephanie Izsak, Kristine Gerolaga, Daphne Gardner, and Michael Gabriele.

Sweet Tooth (France) follows a game among children that grows increasingly out of control. After having her first period, a young girl goes through an unexpected transformation in First Blood (Canada). A teen girl discovers a new way to keep up with toxic beauty standards, but things don’t go as planned in Consumer (Canada). In Mosquito Lady (U.S.), a pregnant teen girl tries to get an abortion despite the objections of her conservative parents, forcing her into an unconventional and horrific experience. In the Flesh (U.S.) finds Tracey pleasuring herself in the shower when the pipes explode and she starts to leak black goo. In Get Away (U.S.), a group of friends rents a remote house in the desert. There, they find an old TV, a VHS player, and a tape containing terrifying coincidences.

 English, French, Tagalog with subtitles 

Content Considerations
Self harm, body horror, disordered eating, sexual violence
Learn about Festival content considerations...

Screenings & Events

Virtual Screening

This program will be available to stream from October 16 at 12:00pm CT to October 22 at 11:59pm CDT.

Sponsors

Film Supporters

Logo: Canada 313x100