In California

La Californie

First a concentrated gaze, then fascinated observation, and finally prying that turns observation into obsession: a look can have a surprising number of nuances. Mathilde is an aspiring ballet dancer determined to fight for her place in the sun. Charles is a film student searching for his first grand subject until he realises that he has been living it all this time. An unusually open tale of a complicated relationship between two young people trying to find a niche abroad where Mathilde ventured to pursue her dreams of becoming a prima ballerina and Charles followed her devotedly. The film builds up viewer‘s expectations, only to subvert them dramatically. Appearing first as a poetic declaration of love and later as a study on self­ ­torture and accepting pain, the film keeps on revealing newer, deeper and more surprising layers.

  • Year:
    2015
  • Runtime:
    78 min.
  • Country:
    France
  • Director:
    Charles Redon
  • Screenplay:
    Charles Redon
  • Dir. of Photography:
    Charles Redon, Klaudia Reynicke, Mathilde Froustey, Gérard Redon, David Cailley
  • Editor:
    Suzana Pedro
  • Cast:
    Mathilde Froustey, Charles Redon
  • Production:
    Claude Redon
  • Sales:
    The Open Reel
  • Festivals:
    IDFA 2015, Odessa 2016 (Cena za najlepší európsky dokumentárny film / Best European Documentary), Nowe Horyzonty 2016

Schedule:

13.11.2016 20:15 Kino Lumière (K2)
15.11.2016 13:30 Kino Mladosť

About the Director:

Charles Redon

Having studied political science in Paris, Charles Redon (1984) enrolled into La Fémis, the French national film school. Although he studied film producing, he also wrote and directed a short film that was broadcasted and selected for various festivals; it was this success that convinced him to continue along the path of a film director. He started out by making two short films, Au banquet des loups (2006) and Jours de colère (2010). In California is his first feature–length film.