The Specials

For twenty years, Bruno and Malik have lived in a different world—the world of autistic children and teens. In charge of two separate nonprofit organizations (The Hatch & The Shelter), they train young people from underprivileged areas to be caregivers for extreme cases that have been refused by all other institutions. It’s an exceptional partnership, outside of traditional settings, for some quite extraordinary characters.

Writer of O

Published in Paris in 1954, Story of O was an immediate bestseller and literary scandal: an elegantly written S&M fantasy that had all the hallmarks of being an autobiographical account by the pseudonymous Pauline Réage. In 1994 Dominique Aury, a mild-mannered, dowdy editor for France’s prestigious Gallimard press, revealed her authorship. Pola Rapaport explores Aury's inspiration, recreating the world of '50s literary Paris and setting it against dramatic sequences that bring the infamous book to life. The author as well as various Fren...

The Repentant

A mysterious woman, dressed in black and carrying a small suitcase, arrives in Nice and tries in vain to get a job in a luxury goods shop. She ends up in a plush hotel where a solitary middle-aged man, engages her to be his companion. They introduce themselves - she is Charlotte, he is Paul. Both are reluctant to talk about their past; both need someone to make their present predicament more tolerable. Unbeknownst to either of them, Charlotte is being followed by another man, who seems intent on revenge...

Reinventing Marvin

Telling the true story of Marvin Bijou, a young boy from a working-class family in a small village, who suffers constant bullying at school and home for being ‘different’ – too sensitive and too feminine. A chance encounter with a drama teacher opens the doors to a world that offers him the chance to escape his situation.

The Royal Exchange

After many years of confrontation, the treasures of Spain and France are empty. In 1721, the regent of France draws up an ambitious plan to inaugurate an era of peace and prosperity that will heal the economies of both nations: his intention is to build a solid network of marriage alliances that will involve four children of very different ages who know nothing of betrayals and power games…

The Poisoning Angel

In 1800, Brittany is on its knees, overwhelmed by the regime in place and by the omnipotent clergy. It founders in an economic slump without end in sight and, in the middle of all this, a young, suffering girl pushes back as best she can. She is known as the "Poisoning Angel," an isolated child, mistreated by life and rocked by morbid thoughts. She will become one of the world's most notorious serial killers and will sow death, perhaps merely to be looked at and loved.

Bonsoir

Having first lost his wife then his job as a tweed tailor, Alex Ponttin has devised a novel way to keep himself in touch with society. He admits himself into people's homes, by pretending to be a relative or an official, and persuading his victims to give him a night's free board: He finds at first a lunch at the horrible couple Dumont, where a thief follows him for a robbery. Alex spent an evening in front of TV at Marie, mother of seven children. He runs from Marie to find an evening and a new bed at the home of charming but shy lesbian Ca...

The Great Mystical Circus

The story of five generations of the Austrian-Brazilian Knieps family, from the inauguration of their family-owned Great Mystical Circus in the 1910s up to the early 21st century, following both the family and the circus from their prime through to their decadence.

Looking for Her

Elisa, on a verge of divorce, leaves Paris with her son Noe to settle in her hometown of Dunkerque to find the biological mother who gave her up for adoption 30 years before.

Our Dream Lives

Bénédicte, Martine, and Juliette were classmates who formed an inseparable trio. Fifteen years later, Bénédicte and Martine return to their small native town of Pithiviers for Juliette's funeral. But Juliette remains present in Bénédicte and Martine's remembrances and through her eighteen-year-old daughter Scarlett, who bears a striking resemblance.

Toni

Toni has spent her entire life putting other people’s needs before her own. When she was 20 years old, she was pushed by her mother to join a TV singing competition, becoming a national star. Twenty years and five children later, she is a full-time mom who spends all her time and effort on raising her teenage kids. As she helps her children plan their future after graduation, she begins to imagine what her life could be if - for once - she did what she really wanted. Will she be able to turn her life around and dare to be something other tha...

J'ai tué Clémence Acéra

A man's wife has disappeared; her diary gives the police detailed account of their sexual life.