Pauline Loquès’s remarkable debut feature, which premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week, is an ode to the heyday of French New Wave filmmaking, including a tip of the hat to Agnès Varda’s Cléo from 5 to 7. Théodore Pellerin, a rising talent who won the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award at Cannes last year and Best Male Revelation at this year’s César Awards, plays Nino with depth and nuance.
On a Friday morning, Nino attends a follow-up doctor’s appointment, where he is given some upsetting news that he has throat cancer. The treatment will start on Monday morning, but there is a high chance that it might leave him infertile, so the doctor tells him to consider freezing his sperm if there is a chance he might want children in the future. Shaken by the diagnosis – the day before his 29th birthday – and having never had to think about whether he wanted children before, an overwhelmed Nino leaves the hospital, not knowing what to do next.
When he randomly bumps into an old school friend, who shakes something within him, he embarks on a journey of introspection. Over the course of the weekend, he traverses the streets of Paris, forced to come to terms with his life – past and present – and to reconnect with friends, his family and himself.
Presents
A weekly strand of film, championing a curated and eclectic mix of independent, world and arthouse cinema.
Director Pauline Loquès
Year 2026
Duration
1h 37m
Language French with English subtitles
Cast Théodore Pellerin, William Lebghil, Salomé Dewaels