Everyday Heroes (Et les mistrals gagnants)
Ajyal Competition - Ajyal Youth Film Festival 2017
Anne-Dauphine Julliand / Feature Documentary / France / 2016 / 79 min / Colour / DCP / In French / Arabic, English subtitles / MENA Premiere
Rated: Parental guidance is advised for viewers under the age of 13. Individuals under the age of 13 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or older.
Synopsis
Five youngsters, each with a chronic medical condition, allow the filmmakers to follow them on their sometimes difficult daily lives. We learn of their doubts and joys, see them grow, laugh at their youthful antics, cheer them on in their successes, and hear of their mature approach to life and the world around them. As one of the children wisely points out, “being sick doesn’t stop you from being happy”; whether dealing with kidney trouble, a skin condition, heart and lung problems or a debilitating cancer, each of these young people instills the viewer with a passion for life.
Through spending intimate, sometimes painful experiences with Ambre, Camille, Charles, Imad and Tugdual, we recognise them – as the film’s English title suggests – as heroes; young people whose curiosity, courage and cheer in the face of grave adversity teach us a valuable lesson in living life to the full. This extends as well to the family members and medical experts who tend to their young patients’ needs and encourage them to pursue their dreams – each of them is a hero in their own quiet way. ‘Everyday Heroes’ is a rousing celebration of the joys of living, even if life is difficult, or may be cut far too short.
About the Director
Anne-Dauphine Julliand was born in Paris in 1973 and trained as a journalist. In 2006, her two-year-old daughter was diagnosed with incurable metachromic leukodystrophy. In 2011, she published ‘Deux petits pas sur le sable mouillé’, in which she shares her experiences of her child’s illness and death. The book sold more than 350,000 copies in France and has been translated into 20 languages. Having been elected to the board of directors of the ELA, a pan-European association that combats lycodystrophies, today she raises funds for palliative care.
Credits
- Director
- Anne-Dauphine Julliand
- Screenwriter
- Anne-Dauphine Julliand
- Producer
- Édouard de Vésinne
- Editor
- Lilian Corbeille, Mathieu Goasguen
- Associate Producer
- Alexia de Beauvoir
- Executive Producer
- Frédéric Bruneel
- Music
- ROB
- Cinematographer
- Katell Djian, Isabelle Razavet, Alexis Kavyrchine, Matthieu Fabbri, Laurent Brunet
- Production Company
- Incognita Films
- Sound
- Quentin Romanet
- Mixing
- Steven Ghouti
- Distributor
- Moving Turtle