“A brutally honest family portrait.” - Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter
“Graced by a committed central performance from Marion Cotillard.” - Allan Hunter, Screen International
Wednesday, March 6, 8:15 p.m. | After the suicide of her mother, writer and photographer Carole Achache, her daughter Mona found thousands of photos, letters, and audio recordings her mother left behind. Academy Award–winning actress Marion Cotillard (LA VIE EN ROSE) plays the director’s mother, and Mona plays herself, generating a delicate yet raw meta portrait of a mother-daughter relationship. Utilizing unconventional, fourth-wall-breaking techniques to boldly exhume and investigate her mother’s sins, Mona vividly blurs the lines between documentary and drama and Cotillard gives a commanding performance that earned the acclaimed actress a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. Content consideration: contains themes of suicide and sexual assault.
This Young French Cinema program was made possible with the support of Unifrance and Villa Albertine – French Embassy in the United States.
Awards & Nominations
Nominee - Golden Eye, Cannes Film Festival
Nominee - Best Actress (Marion Cotillard), César Awards, France
Chicago European Union Film Festival - Spotlight on Belgium: Join us this year as we dive into the best of Belgian cinema new and old. Presenting Chicago audiences with a potent cultural immersion and showcasing bright new native talents alongside a slice of repertory favorites. View full festival.
The Film Center thanks the consulates, consuls general, and cultural institutes of the European Union in Chicago and their embassies in Washington, D.C., for their support, partnership, and collaboration. Special thanks to Paul M. Van Halteren, president of EuroChicago and Honorary Consul of Belgium in Illinois, and our 2024 Belgium Spotlight partners:
European Union Center w/European Union Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign through support from the U.S. Department of Education’s Title VI NRC Program.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu