two Poitevins in the running for the Nikon Film Festival

Amélie Raymondeau and Henri Guillon have just been preselected at the Nikon Film Festival, the very short film festival. By going against the imposed theme and delivering a story that echoes their own, they managed to seduce the jury from a large number of applications.

“There are people who have much more means and talent, but we can match our passion“, assures Henri Guillon. With his friend Amélie Reymondeau, these two Poitevins have just seen their film preselected at the Nikon Film Festival, the most prestigious festival for very short films. A further step for two enthusiasts who dream of making cinema their main activity .

For its 15th edition, the Nikon Film Festival invited candidates to present productions on the theme “A Superpower”. “This theme spoke to metraces Henri Guillon. I wrote a script that also spoke to Amélie. So, we shot at the end of December and the beginning of January over three days. I applied a week ago and immediately we found out that we were preselected!“

The bet was to take the opposite approach. Far from superheroes with all kinds of special effects, the two-minute film tells the story of a doctor who gives hope to a disillusioned patient facing an illness that no one seems to be able to cure. “The superpower here is the empathy of a caregiver. Not all heroes wear a cap, in this case, it’s a blouse“, explains Henri Guillon who plays the role of doctor in addition to shooting and directing the short film “Merci Docteur”.

Especially since Poitevin himself is a caregiver. Although he created his audiovisual production company 10 years ago, he is also a masseur-physiotherapist. “With this film, the objective was also to pay tribute to all the healthcare workers who fight every day“, declares Henri Guillon. And for Amélie Raymondeau, professional photographer, in the role of the patient, the parallel with her experience is even more telling. “I have a pathology and it resonated with me. This film is exactly what I experienced 10 years ago“, she says.

What people don’t know is that I’m really into health and that Amélie really lived this story!

Henri Guillon

actor and director of the shortlisted short film

It is perhaps this authenticity which opened the doors of preselections to the two friends met a few years previously through their photography and audiovisual production activities. But not only that, according to them. The passion they have for cinema has also done a lot. In addition to their activities, they devote a lot of time to it. Amélie Raymondeau has even already made an appearance in Mélanie Laurent’s film, Le bal des Folles, filmed in Rochefort in 2020.

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Now, the two friends are waiting for January 20, the date their film will be released to the public. The latter is required to vote to award the “Public Prize”, until March 20. But the two Poitevins can also hope to be winners in the 12 other categories awarded by the jury. Chaired by director and actress Noémie Merlant, it is made up of actors, directors and producers such as Kyan Khojandi, Anaïde Rozam, Julien De Saint Jean, Laetitia Dosch and Karidja Touré.

“If we are winners, it’s the icing on the cake, but we have already won by being preselected“, assures Henri Guillon. Because the competition is difficult. Only a few films are preselected out of the thousands of applications each year, some of which are supported by big productions. Enough to fuel ambitions. Both hope to be able to fully launch into cinema. “I want to direct a feature film, it was the opportunity to get started, to show what I knew how to dohopes Henri Guillon. My feature film is ready, we just need to produce it!“

Amélie Raymondeau would like to be a film photographer. In a department like Vienne where cinema is not really a growing activity, the visibility offered by the Nikon Film Festival is a real reward. But they swear: if they manage to break into the seventh art, they will not forget Poitou and will try to put it in the spotlight!