A blonde-haired boy crashes through the glazed wall of a suburban house and falls to the floor, unconscious. A militia of young men carries him away. They are led by a young woman, a blue-eyed, futuristic Jeanne d’Arc. They exit just as a swarm of threatening drones invades the room. A voice-over informs us that the state has deemed these boys to be violent orphans and social outcasts and the authorities are now hunting them down. What follows is a quiet but emotional story of brotherhood, angst, mutual protection, violent impulses and infinite tenderness amongst a band of hyper-masculine warriors living under the protective wing of the caring Jessica.
True to the themes of their short films, and featuring the young tribe that populates their previous works, Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel’s first feature combines a minimalistic plot, fantasy elements and hyper-realistic cinematography to create a lifelike version of a video game environment, in which alienation and isolation can only be conquered by affection. Friends forever. Love forever.
by Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel
with Aomi Muyock, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Augustin Raguenet, Lukas Ionesco, Eddy Suiveng, Paul Hamy, Maya Coline, Angelina Woreth
France 2018 French 97’ Colour

With

  • Aomi Muyock (Jessica )
  • Sebastian Urzendowsky (Michael)
  • Augustin Raguenet (Lucas)
  • Lukas Ionesco (Julien)
  • Eddy Suiveng (Kevin)
  • Paul Hamy (Raiden)
  • Maya Coline (Camille)
  • Angelina Woreth (Andréa)

Crew

Written and Directed by Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel
Cinematography Marine Atlan
Editing Vincent Tricon
Sound Lucas Doméjean
Production Design Margaux Remaury
Costumes Sarah Topalian
Casting Kris Portier De Bellair
Assistant Director Caroline Ronzon
Production Manager Rodolphe Croquefer
Producer Emmanuel Chaumet
Executive Producer Mathilde Delaunay
Co-Production Arte France Cinéma Issy-Les-Moulineaux

Produced by

Ecce Films

Caroline Poggi

Born in Ajaccio, Corsica in 1990, she studied at the Université Paris 8 and the University of Corsica Pasquale Paoli. She has made several short films with Jonathan Vinel including Tant qu'il nous reste des fusils à pompe (As Long as Shotguns Remain), Notre Héritage (Our Legacy) and Martin Pleure (Martin Cries) which all screened in Berlinale Shorts. Jessica Forever is her joint debut feature film with Vinel.

Filmography (joint short films)

2012 Chiens; short film 2014 Tant qu’il nous reste des fusils à pompe (As Long as Shotguns Remain); short film, co-director: Jonathan Vinel 2015 Notre héritage (Our Legacy); short film, co-director: Jonathan Vinel 2017 After School Knife Fight; short film, co-director: Jonathan Vinel

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019

Jonathan Vinel

Born in Toulouse, France in 1988, he studied editing at La Fémis in Paris and has made a number of films with Caroline Poggi.

Filmography (short films)

2011 We; short film · Play; short film 2012 Prince puissance souvenirs (Prince Power Memories); short film 2013 Notre amour est assez puissant (Our Love is Powerful Enough); short film 2014 Tant qu’il nous reste des fusils à pompe (As Long as Shotguns Remain); co-director: Caroline Poggi, Berlinale Shorts 2015 Notre héritage (Our Legacy); co-director: Caroline Poggi, Berlinale Shorts 2017 Martin Pleure (Martin Cries); short film, Berlinale Shorts

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019