IN SAFE HANDS
Pupille
France | 2019 | Drama | 107 min | In French with English subtitles
Directed by: Jeanne Herry
Written by: Jeanne Herry
Cinematography: Sofian El Fani
Film Editing: Francis Vesin
Original Score: Pascal Sangla
Produced by: Vincent Mazel (Chi-Fou-Mi Productions), Alain Attal (Trésor Films), France 3 Cinema, StudioCanal
Cast: Sandrine Kiberlain (Karine), Gilles Lellouche (Jean), Élodie Bouchez (Alice), Olivia Côte (Lydie), Miou Miou (Irène), Stéfi Celma
Jeanne Herry crafts a story stemming from a delicate two-and-a-half-month state of limbo for a newborn child, Théo, who becomes a ward of the state after his mother gives him up for adoption at birth. In Safe Hands choreographs parallel strands of action: the search for potential parents undertaken by the social workers managing Théo’s case (Sandrine Kiberlain and Clotilde Mollet), the care and vigilance required for Théo’s foster father (Gilles Lellouche) to properly nurture him in the interim, and the nine-year journey of adoption applications and fractured marriage embarked upon by a possible mother (Élodie Bouchez). Within this institutional balancing act, Herry’s characters swing between intense determination, uncertainty, and, ultimately, joy: all par for the course while seeking the proper equilibrium for a person’s life to begin. Three wins and 12 nominations including 7 César Awards (Best Film, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay) and 44 Lumiere Awards.
Showing with: Upset Body (20 min)
Programme sponsored by
