Archive of films Marie's Story / Marie Heurtin

France
2014, 95 min

Section: People Next Door
Year: 2019

In the late 19th century the Larnay Institute in France takes in a deaf-blind girl called Marie whom the convent’s Catholic sisters soon brand as a “wild animal”. She doesn’t speak, she won’t walk anywhere and she is unable to integrate into her new community. Sister Marguerite, however, is not about to give up. With remarkable patience she teaches Marie tactile signing and, later on, sign language. A moving story which, to this day, even specialist journals consider a miracle.

Synopsis

This story was described, even in specialist journals, as something of a miracle. It unfolded in the late 19th century at Larnay convent in France, where Catholic nuns took in and cared for deaf-blind children. One of them was Marie Heurtin, a girl lacking basic communication skills; she couldn’t even walk by herself. This apparently hopeless case was taken up by Sister Marguerite, who patiently taught Marie tactile signing and sign language so that she would understand the relationship between object and gesture. Once the girl had grasped this concept, she went on to achieve incredible things. Not only did Marie become proficient in sign language, but she also mastered Braille, sewing, typewriting and other skills that were hitherto unimaginable. The film is as moving as the story itself.

Anna Kořínek

About the director

Jean-Pierre Améris (b. 1961 Lyon, France). Selected filmography: C’est la vie (2001), Romantics Anonymous (Les émotifs anonymes, 2010), The Man Who Laughs (L’homme qui rit, 2012), Marie’s Story (Marie Heurtin, 2014), Family for Rent (Une famille à louer, 2015)

Contacts

CinemArt, a.s.
Národní 60/28, 111 21, Praha 1
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 224 949 110
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.cinemart.cz

Indie Sales
32, Rue Washington, 75008, Paris
France
Tel: +33 144 830 227
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.indiesales.eu

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About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	People Next Door

Director:	Jean-Pierre Améris
Screenplay:	Jean-Pierre Améris, Philippe Blasband
Dir. of Photography:	Virginie Saint-Martin
Music:	Sonia Wieder-Atherton
Editor:	Anne Souriau
Art Director:	Vincent Dizien
Producer:	Denis Carot, Sophie Révil
Production:	Escazal Films
Cast:	Isabelle Carré, Ariana Rivoire, Brigitte Catillon, Noémie Churlet, Laure Duthilleul
Sales:	Indie Sales
Distributor:	CinemArt, a.s.

Guests

Marek Jeníček

Distributor, Producer

Martin Gondre

Sales Agent