Francophone Short Films in Harlem (Columbia University)

Grâce, Johanna Makabi, 2022, 14 min., France.

Grace, 8 years old, hates her neighbourhood, hates cheerleading, and has decided to join her father in space.

Trumpets in the Sky, Rakan Mayasi, 2022, 15 min., Syria, Lebanon.

In Lebanon today: the war in Syria is next door. A once dreamy and undisturbed meadow changes drastically in the eyes of Boushra, 14 years old, who returns from work picking potatoes to learn that her childhood will soon come to an end. With an absent father, her mother sells her into marriage. As she tries to connect with her decaying hometown, Boushra fears the impending possibilities of departure and becoming a woman. 

D’un feu secret, A.T .Bonaiuto, 2023, 14 min., USA.

A music video for D’un feu secret,” a Baroque music piece by Michel Lambert written in the 1600s and sung here by Franco-American jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant.

L’apatride, Tawfik Sabouni, 2023, 26 min., Belgium.

When Salma, a Syrian refugee, gets her residence permit, she discovers that the Belgian authorities have withdrawn her nationality and that of her son. Salma then fights for the recognition of their lost nationality.

The Truth about Alvert, the Last Dodo, Nathan Clément, 2022, 17 min., Réunion-France/Switzerland.

On the island of Réunion, Lunet and his grandfather Dadabé set out on a quest to turn a hen into a dodo bird, whose magic feathers might save the boy’s seriously ill mother.

Madeleine, Raquel Sancinetti, 2023, 15 min., Québec/Canada

Every week, Raquel (age 41), a Brazilian immigrant, visits her friend Madeleine (age 107) in her retirement home in Montreal, and tries to convince her to get out of the house. The old woman refuses, having nothing to do outside. Raquel doesn't relent and finds a way to bring Madeleine with her on a road trip to the sea. The result is a journey that plays with reality and fiction and reflects upon life, death, and the certainty that there is always something to learn along the way.

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This event is organized by the Francophone Short Film Festival, curated by Pascale Crépon and Lucie Chabrol.

Host or Publisher CU Maison Française