French Connection is the new instalment in NQV Media’s short film collection The Male Gaze, continuing their anthology of gay shorts from around the world. In the year of the Paris Olympics, this collection has gathered five diverse films all made in France, so take a look at each below.
9TH FLOOR TO THE RIGHT (France)
Starring: Andrea Romano, Mexianu Medenou, Matthieu Sampeur
Director: Andrea Romano
Lorenzo has arranged a hook-up with a handsome stranger but is taken aback when his guest arrives with a homeless man in tow, asking if he can use his shower. Reluctant, Lorenzo gives him clean clothes, food and use of his bathroom, but as neither guest shows any sign of taking the night the way he expected, he’s left feeling powerless and frustrated. A morality story with numerous points of view, it balances the motives of all three characters, playing with an ambiguous sense of which is in the right. A well-written and well-performed character drama, this short gives a compelling snapshot of modern western politics, posing a moral conundrum that opens Pandora’s box. An exceptionally well-drawn film.
HUGO: 6.30PM (France)
Starring: Julien Branellec, Thomas Blanchard, Zoé Monteillet
Directors: Simon Helloco, James Maciver
Hugo is a young actor who is asked at a casting session to improvise a story to camera. He embarks on a tale of a young man just diagnosed with HIV, speaking of the events leading to this moment and the fallout of its revelation. Unclear whether this is a story taken from life or just plucked from the air, this emotive storyteller arrests his audience with a moving story of a man’s shattered dreams. Poignant, fatalistic and nuanced, this is an innovative reflection on the enduring impact of HIV.
CARY & JAMES (France)
Starring: Édouard Sulpice, Ferdinand Niquet-Rioux, Marilyne Canto
Director: Victor Boyer
Author Nathan is struggling with writer’s block, so he heads out into Paris to meet with his friend Francis. Malcontent and bored, they take LSD together and the pair wander the streets, stumbling into various encounters. And, having watched a classic Cary Grant and James Stewart movie, they begin to live out their own version of 1950s Hollywood. Trippy, episodic and rambling, this stream-of-consciousness short gives us a snapshot of an artist’s brain as he tries to find meaning in his world, where the great stories have seemingly all already been told.
FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME (France)
Starring: Clément Bompart, Serihy Miltchevsky, Joseph Treacy, Mamza Zerrouk
Director: Clément Bompart
John’s whole life is football and he plays for a small team, hoping for a break into the professional game. He keeps his personal life completely private, knowing that if he talks about his true identity, it would be held against him forever on the pitch. Over the course of several games, we watch as he quietly deals with the toxic culture of his sport in order for him to play. A subtle and nuanced short that doesn’t pull out its soap box, it lets us watch John as he reconciles what’s most important to him: his sexuality or his passion. An observational but unremarkable film, it lets us see the debate around sexuality in sport through the eyes of an up-and-coming star.
YOUSSOU & MALEK (France)
Starring: Adam Hafsia, Frank Onana, Claïna Clavaron, Mélodie Lauret
Director: Simon Frenay
Two teenage boys are in love but living their final summer together. Youssou has won a scholarship to study at a prestigious college, whereas Malek is successful at an art school at home. Set in the sweltering heat of an urban jungle, the boys’ feelings are explored in a rap musical as the star-crossed lovers prepare to part for the final time. Clashes with the police and support from their friends is all played across a sweeping soundtrack of orchestral strings and brass, their poetic lyrics adding a poignancy and earnestness to their feelings. Artistic, bold and beautiful, this is an affecting film about the gravity of first love.
In the year of the Paris Olympics, these five shorts are a reminder of the filmmaking prowess of directors hailing from France. Its artistic prowess - so obliquely on show in the opening ceremony - is reflected here, told by the finessed voices of a handful of talented French filmmakers. While the full collection is a delectable platter of cinematic mignardise, 9th Floor To The Right is definitely its pièce montée.
UK Release: Out now to watch on VOD, released by NQV Media.
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