04/07/2023 - The intimate new documentary by the French director after Oh La La Pauline is premiering in the Czech festival's Proxima competition

Emilie attempts to understand the mystery of her universe: her mother Meaud. Magical grandmother, broken child, punk mother, spontaneous feminist, she fascinates as much as she disrupts. How do you give your children the love that you were denied yourself? How do you nurture your inner child when having gone through childhood trauma?

This is the synopsis of Keeping Mum [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emilie Brisavoine
film profile], the new documentary by French director Émilie Brisavoine, which is world-premiering in the Proxima competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The filmmaker's previous film is Oh La La Pauline [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], another intimate documentary premiered as part of the ACID selection at Cannes in 2015.

In the director's words, "I decided to return to documentary and grab my camera to film my own mother, rather than write about a theoretical mother. I’d just had a baby and my mother was very present in my life at this time. Because of our history and her personality, my mother was really the most fascinating person in my life. She’s a real movie character: charismatic, eccentric and funny. She knows how to stage herself in an innate way, and tell incredible stories with her unique cheekiness. Not having grown up with her, I thought this project would bring us closer together, that it would be something strong to share together. She’s had a difficult life, and I wanted to shine a light on her in some way by giving her this film."

The film is a production staged by Nicolas Anthomé for bathysphere. International sales are being handled by Belgium's Best Friend Forever.

Check out our exclusive teaser below: