Serie 2
29 APRIL 2023 at 3:00PM
Francophone Short Films in Harlem Serie 2 (with English subtitles) (78’)
So Socrates is mortal (Donc Socrate est Mortel), Alexandre Isabelle, 2021, 12’, Canada/Quebec
Faced with the climate crisis, Louise, a philosophy teacher, is going into action.
Raw (Tout cru), Jeanne Ruelle, 2022, 8’, Belgium
In 2009 a trawler was sunk by the weight of giant jellyfish caught in its nets. But is that really what happened ? Climate change, overfishing and toxic discharges are the factors that lead to the proliferation of giant jellyfish. If the man is the first responsible for this invasion, he will also be the first victim.
Little Melody (Petite Melody), Dina Nomena Andriarimanijaka/Atelier 7 jours pour 1 film , 2022, 16’,Madagascar
Melody is a little girl who lives in her doll's imagination since her mother was hospitalized for Covid-19...
The boy and the elephant (Le garcon et l'éléphant), Sonia Gerbeaud, 2022, 7’. France
In a class, the arrival of a new elephant head triggers mockery and sarcasm. One of the students seems captivated and confused by this strange child.
Villa Reynette; Ciment and Love (La villa Reynette:de ciment et d’amour) Evelyne Aglid & Ludovic Adbadja, 2022, 16’, Benin
Descendant of a French family who settled in Porto-Novo during the colonial period, Joséphine Rey lives and carefully watches over the villa built by her grandfather: LA VILLA REYNETTE. Convinced that: “It is her body heat that keeps the walls of this completely dilapidated house standing…”, She fervently prays to the Virgin Mary for goodwill to assist her in the renovation of her heritage.
With Afro-Brazilian architecture, Villa Reynette is a place where past and present meet.
With a lost heart (A coeur perdu), Sarah Saison, 2021, 14’, France
Omid is an Iranian immigrant who came to settle in France with his family. One evening, in the street, he is assaulted and stabbed in the heart. But Omid gets up! At the hospital, the doctors' diagnosis is clear: he has no heart. Would it have stayed in Iran?
Aix-Hale, Ian Truitner, 2022, 5’, France
In Aix-en-Provence, France, a musician is wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit, and he sets off on a frantic chase through the narrow, winding streets of the city with two police officers on his heels, just as agile and determined to catch him.
Serie 3
29 APRIL 2023 at 5:00PM
Q.&A. to follow
Francophone Short Films in Harlem Serie3 (with English subtitles) (90’)
Departure (Le départ), Sail Hamich Beniarbi, 2020, 24’, Morocco
Morocco, 2004. That summer, eleven-year-old Adil spent his days playing with his group of friends and waiting for the last Olympic Games of his idol, runner Hicham El Guerrouj. The arrival of his father and his older brother, who had come from France for a few days, would mark him forever.
Bad Seeds (les mauvaises herbes) , Claude Cloutier, 2022, 6’,Canada/Quebec
Weeds takes us into a surprising world populated by carnivorous plants that change appearance like a chameleon changes from one color to another. The director makes growth rhyme with competition, evolution with competition, and sets up an astonishing duel that looks like a western, the cold war, and a board game.
Mulika, Maisa Maene, 2022, 13’, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Returning from space after a mission to protect natural resources, an astronaut returns to the city of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Decked out in a futuristic metallic outfit, he roams the streets under the amused and curious gaze of the locals. Quickly alienated by his neighbors and loved ones, he tries to find a way to reconnect with his identity and his roots. Mulika plays on the border between fiction and documentary with her Afrofuturist themes, using science fiction to explore issues rooted in reality, namely the exploitation of minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the repercussions on its people, who do not benefit from it.
The ghosts of Sa’a (Les fantômes de Sa’a),Cynthia Etaba, 2022, 22’, Cameroon,
The film explores the question of the appropriation of colonial heritage in a district of central Cameroon: Sa'a. Sa'a was created by the Germans at the beginning of the 20th century, and then occupied by the French. Today, the vast majority of buildings left behind by the settlers are in an advanced state of disrepair, and for some in ruins. What gives the city this ghostly appearance? Why does the population who inherited these colonial buildings not reclaim this architectural heritage? Using her childhood memories, through fictitious characters created in a comic book style, as well as testimonies of the inhabitants, the director explores the history of the city of Sa'a with the watermark, the questioning following: what is the relationship of the population of Sa'a with its heritage, its history and its past?
The Return (Le retour), Isabelle Christiane Kouraogo, 2021, 16’, Morocco-Ivory coast
Salimata, 23, a 4th year student in Morocco, learns that her sick mother is dying. Having no money to pay for a plane ticket, she decides to take the road to go to her country in order to spend her last moments there with her mother. And this trip will be marked by her meeting with Khalid who will take her aboard his van.
Mawbe, Mama Selemane Diege, 2022, 9’, Senegal
In Dakar, four young apprentice mechanics forge a very strong friendship, led by Mawbé, a disabled person. Despite the difficulties, the latter keeps his feet on the ground thanks to the solidarity of his gang. On a daily basis, he teaches them the trade. One day, Mawbé is the victim of an accident. The children decide to make him a gift…
Student short film Competition winner 2023 Lycee Francais New York City, 2023, 4’
