Bombarded in official competition at the last Cannes Film Festival, Agathe Riedinger made her first film at the age of 40. Filmed on the French Riviera, it highlights a young non-professional actress, Malou Khebizi, nominated for this role at the Révélations des César 2025.
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It’s the story of Liane, a 19-year-old girl, who sees reality TV as a way out. It’s the story of a young girl from Fréjus in the Var who dreams of becoming the French Kim Kardashian.
“He who is desired is strongest”: the mechanics of social networks prove to be as emancipatory as they are cruel in Diamond Bridget, in theaters this Wednesday, November 20.
France 3 Côte d’Azur met its director, Agathe Riedinger, at the last Cannes Film Festival. She tells us about her film, shot on the Côte d’Azur.
In the background, the city of Fréjus, with its landscapes and its social diversity. “I wanted Liane to live in Fréjus, because it is the first RN town in France and the social fabric is affected. From a practical point of view, Fréjus allowed us to reach out to the surrounding towns, and therefore to have access to incredible landscapes that we see too little in the cinema” explains Agathe Riedinger to France 3 Côte d’Azur.
His film was presented in preview on Tuesday November 5 to the public in Fréjus:
In Rough diamondits director chose to hire non-professional actors for consistency with the subject. “To tell the story of a young girl who dreams of being famous, for me, it didn’t make sense to take people who have already embraced a career in cinema.”
A filming highlighted on Instagram… The mechanics of reality TV, between voyeurism and every man for himself, has long fascinated Agathe Riedinger, who also wants to address questions of class struggle, power play and seduction between women and men.
“It’s a film about the need for love”she elaborates. “The character of Liane brings together all the archetypes of the young woman on whom we will stick the label of brainless bimbo, who we will despise.
Consider that reality TV is trash TV, it is a concentrate of class contempt, for the candidates and for the spectators. However, if reality TV conveys ultra-conservative values, for the candidates, it is a way to get by, an alternative to unemployment, a way to earn money.
Agathe Riedinger, director.
“For people who don’t necessarily have access to studies or employment, it’s a solution that society has created and which they are using.”
A journey in which Malou Khebizi, who grew up in a modest environment in the Marseille region, recognizes himself: his character “est close to all the young girls of my generation”she testifies.
“Being desirable is the only chance we give women to succeed. She makes it her weapon,” adds the actress who remembers a “very joyful” shoot. where she had to “detach oneself from (one’s) image and (one’s) codes”.
The film will be in theaters this Wednesday, with Malou Khebizi, Idir Azougli, Andréa Bescond in particular.
Another film shot on the Côte d’Azur is currently in theaters. It is about The Substance with Demi Moore.
(With AFP)
