Opens June 30 | In this contemplative exploration of trauma and memory, professional translator Mia (Virginie Efira, in a César Award-winning performance) ducks into a crowded bistro during a rainstorm. As she settles in with a glass of wine and observes the merriment of her fellow diners, the scene is shattered by gunfire in a deadly terrorist attack. Months later Mia is numb and struggling to reconnect with the life she had before the attack. Desperate to heal, she begins connecting with other survivors in an attempt to unearth her memories of that fateful night. Content consideration: includes scenes of gun violence. 

Awards & Nominations

Official Selection - Cannes, Toronto International Film Festival 

5 QUESTIONS WITH ALICE WINOCOUR

(Interview from the May/June issue of the Gazette)

REVOIR PARIS is such a compassionate exploration of memory, grief, and recovery. The film will certainly connect with American audiences who regularly encounter incidents and reports of gun violence. What do you hope these audiences will understand or take away from the film?
A relief, I hope. It’s a resilience film. A way to happiness. I would like them to feel the notion of the diamond at the heart of the trauma—those positive things that could happen around a traumatic event: friendship, romantic relationships, strong bonds that are formed and which would not have been formed without the event. Or an oxytocin feeling? A psychiatrist explained to me that holding hands releases oxytocin, a well-being hormone that is similar to contact between a baby and its mother’s breast. Holding hands is comforting and bonding. It’s a kind of gregarious reflex in the most extreme distress situations. That’s why I filmed a lot of hands, why I ended the film on this picture.

What advice would you give to students studying film/filmmaking?
The best advice would be maybe: “Trust your gut.” But I also rely on this NASA motto: “Prepare for the worst, and enjoy every part of it.”

What does “independent film” and “independent filmmaking” mean to you?
Make the film you want to make, with a personal vision. I admire directors such as Francis Ford Coppola or Kathryn Bigelow who can be both radical and popular, classic and unconventional,

What is a memorable moviegoing experience you’ve had?
Maybe E.T. THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL with my family. And also ALICE IN THE CITIES with my mother at la Cinémathèque in Paris. It was the first time I went to the cinema with her. I was about the age of the actress, and this film impressed me a lot. I was struck by its poetry.

What film do you watch again and again?
SAFE, directed by Todd Haynes. I fell in love with Julianne Moore in that movie. And PSYCHO. It comes from my childhood. When I was little, my father bought a VCR, and I watched movies all day with my little brother. We had a completely compulsive relationship with movies. I remember one summer, when I was seven years old, we watched PSYCHO every day, even several times a day. Oddly, it didn’t seem to concern my parents.