L'esquive

Games of love and chance
Director
Abdellatif Kechiche
Country
France
Year
2003
Genre
Fiction
Scriptwriters
Abdellatif Kechiche
Cast
Osman Elkharraz / Sara Forestier / Sabrina Ouazani / Nanou Benahmou / Hafet Ben-Ahamet
Production
Noe Productions
http://www.noe-productions.fr

Storyline

An angel – right in the middle council housing estate near Paris. At least that’s what 15-year-old Abdelkrim, otherwise known as “Krimo”, feels when he first catches sight of his classmate, Lydia, passionately absorbed in her recitation of Marivaux’s verse. Their class are to enact this great eighteenthcentury bard’s love story, “A Game of Love and Chance” at an upcoming school performance. Krimo, who normally spends his spare time hanging out with his mates, falls in love with Lydia on the spot.The only snag is,Krimo doesn’t talk much,and certainly not about his feelings; he’s far too scared of being made to look ridiculous.Then he has an idea:Krimo persuades his friend, Rachid, who is to play Lydia’s counterpart on stage, to let him play the role of Harlequin. This way, Krimo figures, he can let Marivaux do the talking! However, Krimo’s clever manoeuvre unexpectedly proves to be anything but plain sailing and it transpires that Harlequin’s text is way above his head.Will he ever find the right words – his own words - to tell Lydia how he feels? Abdellatif Kechiche shot his film on original locations using amateur actors. In his own words:“These suburbs are so stigmatised that it seemed almost revolutionary to set a story here that wasn’t about drugs, girls shrouded in veils and arranged marriages.My aim was to find out how the people who live here talk about love and the theatre. I wanted to convey a entirely different, more personal perspective.”

Festivals & Academy awards and others

Berlin International Film Festival 2004
Panorama
Stockholm International Film Festival 2004
Special Mention
Best Film Award
Festival International du Film d’Amour de Mons 2004
Best Actress Award (Sara Forestier, Sabrina Ouazzani and Nanou Benhamou)
Turin Film Festival 2004
Best Director
Holden Prize
«Cerchio non e rotondo» Prize

César 2005
Best Film Award
Best Birector Award
Best Script Award
Best Female Newcomer Award