In the streaming rain, three women are burying a body. They must be Axelle, Conso and Dominic, three prostitutes who work in a brothel just over the Belgian border. But who are they burying in this opening scene of Filles de joie? It could be pretty much any of the male characters in the film – the nasty boyfriend, the manipulative ex, the teenage boy who makes lewd remarks about them every day or that geriatric client, accidentally finished off by a heart attack.
In Filles de joie (‘working girls’), directors Frédéric Fonteyne and Anne Paulicevich switch cleverly back and forth between the perspectives of the different girls, giving insights into their lives as they make jokes about their clients while also suffering from prejudice and sexism. Thanks to vivacious acting from Sara Forestier, Annabelle Lengronne and Noémie Lvovsky, this is principally a story of female solidarity.
Film details
Productielanden
Belgium, France
Jaar
2020
Festivaleditie
IFFR 2020
Lengte
90'
Medium/Formaat
DCP
Taal
French
Première status
None
Director
Frédéric Fonteyne, Anne Paulicevich
Producer
Jacques-Henri Bronckart, Olivier Bronckart, Yaël Fogiel, Laetitia Gonzalez, Antonio Lombardo
Screenplay
Anne Paulicevich
Editing
Chantal Hymans
Sound design
Xavier Griette, Marc Bastien, Thomas Gauder
Principal cast
Noémie Lvovsky, Sara Forestier, Annabelle Lengronne
Production company
Versus Production, Les Films du Poisson, Prime Time