AGE OF PANIC / La Bataille de Solférino

 

West Coast Premiere  • Comedy, Drama • France, 2013

DCP • 1.85 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 94 min

 

Directed by: Justine Triet

Written by: Justine Triet

Cinematography: Tom Harari

Film Editing: Damien Maestraggi

Original Score: Revolver

Produced by: Emmanuel Chaumet (Ecce Films)

Cast: Laetitia Dosch (Laetitia), Vincent Macaigne (Vincent), Arthur Harari (Arthur), Virgil Vernier (Virgil)

International Sales: Ecce Films

 

On the night of the French presidential election, Laetitia, a TV journalist, leaves her children with the babysitter with instructions to prevent any visitation from their deadbeat dad, Vincent. But just as Laetitia goes live from François Hollande’s mobbed campaign offices, she learns Vincent has already wheedled his way into her apartment. The situation escalates when Vincent, in a standout performance by comedy darling Vincent Macaigne, stages their custody fight at the very moment Sarkozy supporters show up to confront the pro-Hollande crowd. By shooting scenes live at the Socialist Party headquarters on the actual night of the elections, filmmaker Justine Triet has subtly interwoven personal and public events, elevating a simple story of marital drama to a symbol for a divided, disillusioned generation.

 

A graduate of the French School of Fine Arts, first-time feature writer/director Justine Triet is part of a group of next-gen directors championed by Cahiers du cinéma in April 2013. For Age Of Panic, she made the bold choice of letting her actors improvise in a real situation as it unfolded in the streets of Paris. Using multiple cameras, and aided by the experience of shooting a documentary, Solférino (2009), in that same location, her gamble was rewarded with a picture recognized for its outstanding success in mixing the fictional with the factual. The film made its debut in the Cannes sidebar ACID, where it won the Grand Prix.

 

 “Age of Panic mixes documentary-style drama with scenes of Mumblecore-esque comedy in ways that are often compelling.”

- Jordan Mintzer HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

 

“Age Of Panic marks the debut of a director to follow.”

- Christophe Brangé ABUS DE CINÉ