Archive of films Insecure / Qui Vive

France
2014, 83 min

Section: Variety Critics’ Choice: Europe Now!
Year: 2014

Conceived with an eye toward color-blindness, French director Marianne Tardieu’s multiethnic debut provides a fresh, empathetic glimpse into the personal insecurities of a small-town security guard (Reda Kateb) struggling to improve his station. A bad decision threatens everything, including romance with a neighborhood girl (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

Synopsis

Conceived with an eye toward color-blindness, French director Marianne Tardieu’s multiethnic debut provides a fresh, empathetic glimpse into the personal insecurities of a small-town security guard struggling to improve his station. A part like this is a big step up for character actor Reda Kateb, who played the prisoner seen hanging by his wrists in the opening scene of Zero Dark Thirty (2012). Here, he has the tricky task of making himself both relatable and somewhat threatening, enough so that his new girlfriend (Adèle Exarchopoulos) might have second thoughts about whether she’s comfortable around his temper. Though based in Brittany, Insecure could take place in nearly any suburb, so universal are the sentiments it depicts — namely, the challenges facing someone determined to earn his way honestly when nearly all his peers are chasing shortcuts, and the consequences of a lapse in judgment that threatens to undermine all his progress.

Peter Debruge

About the director

Marianne Tardieu is a director, screenwriter, and cinematographer who first studied philosophy before going on to study at the Louis Lumière film school in Paris. She has worked as assistant DOP and cinematographer for numerous feature films, including Rue des Cités (2011) and 200%(2010), and has also worked on several documentaries and art films. She has co-written three short films, of which Tremblay en France (2010) won the Grand Prix at the Clermont-Ferrand festival. In 2007, she co-directed the medium-length portrait of the punk band Les Gueules Noires, which shows the band’s members while preparing for their comeback many years after having broken up. The socially-minded Insecure is her feature-length directorial debut.

Contacts

Urban Distribution International
14, rue du 18 Août, 93100, Montreuil
France
Tel: +33 148 704 656
Fax: +33 149 720 421
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.urbandistrib.com

+ 1

About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	Variety Critics’ Choice: Europe Now!

Director:	Marianne Tardieu
Screenplay:	Nadine Lamari, Marianne Tardieu
Dir. of Photography:	Jordane Chouzenoux
Music:	Sayem
Editor:	Thomas Marchand
Producer:	Céline Maugis
Production:	La Vie Est Belle
Coproduction:	Oriflamme Films
Cast:	Reda Kateb, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Moussa Mansaly
Contact:	Urban Distribution International

Guests

Yann Raymond

Film Institution Rep.

Marianne Tardieu

Film Director

Isabelle Giordano

Film Institution Rep.

Joel Chapron

Film Institution Rep.