Film Across Borders: Adolescentes, directed by Sébastien Lifshitz

Adolescentes, directed by Sébastien Lifshitz, 2019, 180 min, France

Adolescentes is a French documentary film directed by Sebastien Lifshitz, released in 2019. It was notably awarded the Louis-Delluc prize in 2020 and three César awards in 2021.

"Emma and Anaïs are best friends and yet everything in their life seems to oppose them, their social background but also their personality. From the age of 13 to 18, Adolescentes follows the two teenagers during these years where radical transformations and first times punctuate daily life. Through their personal stories, the film offers a rare portray of France and its recent history".

Before the screenings of the Films Across Borders movies at La Maison Française, we will be offering a short film shown in virtual reality between 6:00 and 7:00 pm! Lifeline by Victor Michelot (WIDE VR) tells the familiar story of the moment you fall in love. Our virtual reality equipment takes this narrative to another level, which we are so excited to add to our event. 

Panel discussion after the screening, moderated by Dr. Isabel Rivero-Vila, Senior Professorial Lecturer in French, Department of World Languages and Cultures, American University, with Linda Silim Moundene, Ph. D. student in African Studies at Howard University, and assistant movie producer at Delphy Production (Paris), and Dr. Paul Fileri, Professorial Lecturer in the Cinema Studies Program in the Department of Literature at American University.

The American University in partnership with the Embassy of France is delighted to present the 2021 Films Across Borders film series. Films Across Borders was launched in 2014 to raise awareness about highly relevant themes by combining international films and panel discussion with filmmakers and special guests. The festival showcases critiacally acclaimed bfilms, documentaries and short stories from around the world. Co-presented by American University in partnership with embassy cultural organizations, arts institutions and environmental groups, the series focuses on a distinctive timely and compelling theme each year.