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MOVIE CATEGORY
Lili is 14 and wants to have sex. How, with whom, or why, she doesn’t know. During a family caravan trip in Biarritz, she goes clubbing with her older brother and meets Bertrand, an older man. Bertrand knows that Lili isn’t even 16, and that she could only bring trouble, but he lets himself be persuaded by her determination, her curiosity, and her generous, naive flirtations. Will they have sex?
Breillat transcends the typical conflicts that such a synopsis might raise, because she takes seriously both Lili and her ability to understand what she feels and what she wants. She refuses to portray her and Bertrand’s relationship as one of mere manipulation by the older man over the younger girl, but delves deeply into the contradictions and feelings that emerge despite their age difference. Ultimately, she paints the portrait of a young woman who cannot find a role model in any adult, and who therefore takes her sexuality to the next level, revealing herself as independent, strong, and distant from others’ expectations.
DIRECTORY
Director, screenwriter, novelist, and actress, she is one of the most original and courageous voices in contemporary French cinema. Originally from Breissuire, in the French province of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, she wrote her first novel in 1968, at the age of 17: L’homme facile. After several appearances in films such as Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris (1972), and while collaborating, between screenplays and editing, with names such as Liliana Cavani, Federico Fellini, Marco Bellocchio and Maurice Pialat, she made her directorial debut with Une vrai jeune fille (1976), which adapted her fourth novel, Le soupirail. After Tapage nocturne (1979) and 36 fillette (1988), the director’s interest in the exploration of sexuality and the relationship between generations is more than clear. This is confirmed by her subsequent films, including Romance (1999), Fat Girl (2000), and Anatomy of Hell(2003), titles presented (and awarded) at festivals such as Rotterdam, Edinburgh, Berlin, and Cannes. Her films have featured important actresses such as Isabelle Huppert, Asia Argento, Yolande Moureau and Amira Casar. In 2012, director Luc Moullet dedicated a documentary to her, Catherine Breillat, la première fois. A multiple nominee for the Palme d’Or at Cannes (with The Last Mistress in 2007 and Last Summer in 2023), she presided over the Locarno jury in 2019.
