Jour 1
At the end of June, all the spotlights of the seventh art were focused on the Basque seaside town, which will experience a week at the wild pace of the “Nouvelles Vagues” film festival. On the program: eight films in competition, jurors under thirty-five, round tables looking towards tomorrow, a passionate local audience and weather that was… how can I say it… Vivaldi? The four seasons in the same day. At Biarritz train station, you had to see the line of taxis keeping their Basque bonhomie in front of the stars, actresses and actors, influencers, journalists, producers and other happy few of all kinds rinsed by the rain and the journey. This Tuesday evening, we discovered the psychological thriller “La nuit se drage” by Michiel Blanchart, screened as the opening film. Before the lucky ones headed off at a brisk pace and at dusk towards the legendary Hôtel du Palais. In the former home of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie, Chanel, a major partner of “Nouvelles Vagues”, gave a very “bon chic nouveau genre” dinner. In the presence of the jury chaired by Léa Mysius (director of “Les Cinq diables” and co-writer of “Roubaix une lumière” by Arnaud Desplechin) and the Spanish actress Karla Sofía Gascón, guest of honor of this second edition, recently winner of the prize for best actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard. At the bar of the palace, this strange caravan played overtime… So, the night drags on? Not in Biarritz!
Jour 2.
Hallelujah! A blinding sun floods the Côte des Basques, a meeting place for surfers who can be seen in the distance, like little figurines. When they approach, drunk on the waves, they delight the Parisians who are having lunch in the restaurants on the seafront, their bodies just “out of winter” and their eyes a little tired from the surf of the first evening. There, a schism is emerging between the film buffs who are going to see “À son image”, a film by Thierry de Peretti – Special Jury Prize – and the beachgoers. Who goes into the water, who drinks water?! Around 7:00 p.m., the Larrieu brothers fill the house and upset the audience gathered in the Gare du Midi, the beating heart of the festival. Their film entitled “Le roman de Jim”, beautiful enough to make you cry, is an extraordinary odyssey on fatherhood, served by magnificent actors: Karim Leklou, Laetitia Dosch and Sara Giraudeau. We come out shaken… Quickly, head to the Jean bar, at Les Halles, to warm our hearts, carried away by the very friendly president of the event, Jérôme Pulis. Biarritz is Cannes in cool.
Jour 3.
It’s raining like in “A Man and a Woman”, the film by Claude Lelouch where Jean-Louis Trintignant’s face is swept by the windshield wipers of his Ford Mustang. That’s good, there are works to discover in the dark, like the genre film “Eat the Night”, by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel – Jury Prize and Student Jury Prize. In another style, less scary: a master class with the superstar Matt Dillon who wears his sixty years and his respectable Hollywood filmography well. What is he like in real life? Very American, with a twinkle in his eye, nice as can be. You also had to attend the conversation “Actor, actress, a matter of desire” to hear Ana Girardot, co-founder of these “Nouvelles Vagues” and wonderful mistress of ceremonies, tell how, in 2024, post #MeToo, an actress can still be considered without the respect she is due. Moreover, it is surprising to what extent “Diamant brut” by Agathe Riedinger, screened at the beginning of the evening, resonates with these reflections on the body, the image, the freedom of a young woman… It is the story of a kid from Fréjus who wants to become famous, reinventing herself at will so that people watch her at all costs. To what extent? To the point of becoming completely Tic-Toc? A film that you absolutely have to see… Once night fell and the curtain rose, everyone met at “La Petite Plage”, a restaurant with its feet in the water (of rain!), in Port-Vieux. Strangers, audiovisual students, film professionals and stars on the loose clinked their glasses of champagne to better join the dance floor heated by a devilish DJ. You could meet the Iberian Manu Rios and the Thai actress Kitty Chicha there. Heat! Enough to make you want to get some fresh air (or smoke a cigarette!) in delightful company: Vassili Schneider, Kim Higelin, Vincent Lacoste… or chat with the festival’s elegant general director, producer Sandrine Brauer. A lovely moment to ensure you have sweet dreams…
Jour 4.
In the Gare du Midi, more than ever, there is room for international, committed, feminist cinema, which continues to highlight the youth of the entire world with two films in competition: “Girls will be girls”, by Shuchi Talati, and “Les filles du Nil”, by Nada Riyadh & Ayman El Amir. Then, at the end of the afternoon, a brief dinner at the Jean bar before the preview of “The Count of Monte Cristo”, the feature film by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière, played by the brilliant Pierre Niney, present on stage alongside the entire film crew. After three hours devoted to the famous adventures of Edmond Dantès, Biarritz vibrated to the sound of the music festival and the (draw) match of the Blues against the Netherlands. That could be a lot for the same city and the same evening… But here, we have seen others in terms of carousing! The night seemed to belong to this happy colony of moviegoers who found themselves on the trail of Opium. A paradise that was not at all artificial!
Jour 5.
Is this the end? Before the end of this event now dear to the people of Biarritz, we had the chance to see again “Empire of the Sun” by Steven Spielberg, a screening chosen and commented by Alex Lutz, sponsor of the Pass Culture jury made up of young locals. Then, early in the evening and in the presence of the American actor James Franco, the awards ceremony which had a crazy pace, presented by the very witty Ana Girardot, punctuated by relevant, moving, conscious speeches. For a week, the question of youth, the DNA of the “Nouvelles Vagues” festival, will have particularly echoed our chaotic political times. Let’s continue to look at the world through the big screen, too. And see you in Biarritz in 2025.
