| Director: | Marie-Elsa Sgualdo |
|---|---|
| Production: | Box Productions (Elena Tatti, Nicolas Wittwer), Hélicotronc (Julie Esparbes), Offshore (Emmanuelle Latourrette, Fabrice Préel-Cléach) |
| Running Time: | 96’ |
| Language: | French |
| Country: | Switzerland, Belgium, France |
| Year: | 2025 |
| Main Cast: | Lila Gueneau, Grégoire Colin, Thomas Doret, Aurélia Petit, Sandrine Blancke, Sasha Gravat Harsch, Tamara Semelet, Cyril Metzger, Lievke Bartel, Aurelien Patouillard, Etienne Fague |
| Screenplay: | Nadine Lamari, Marie-Elsa Sgualdo
|
| Cinematographer: | Benoît Dervaux |
| Editor: | Karine Sudan |
| Production Designer: | Sara B. Weingart |
| Costume Designer: | Geneviève Maulini |
| Music: | Nicolas Rabaeus |
| Sound: | Xavier Lavorel, Henry Sims |
| Visual Effects: | Fabrice Barbey (PROTOZOAIRE) |
Cinema
À bras-le-corps (Silent rebellion)
Venezia Spotlight
Synopsis
15-year-old Emma — pregnant after a rape — defies her repressive rural Protestant community to carve a path of self-determination, transforming trauma into a catalyst for emancipation while confronting the moral hypocrisy of the village and the spectre of World War II around her.
Director’s Statement
This film is a love letter to the women in my family and countless others who fought invisible battles for autonomy. Emma’s journey isn’t about triumph but the cost of making choices. My protagonist, Emma, navigates a life of obligations during wartime. Bound by the social and religious values of the 1940s, her future is predetermined. Emma must make tough decisions, torn between her values, emotions, and vital force. She adapts to survive as best she can in a world that is unforgiving to women. Her rebellion is not framed in grand gestures, but in the almost invisible acts of defiance: a book read in secret, a lie swallowed to survive, a womb that becomes both prison and compass. The film’s power lies in its restraint — like the women it honours, it wields “silent” individual choices as a weapon. The slow evolution of women’s rights and freedoms is made possible through the accumulation of many individual struggles. I wanted my mise-en- scène to express Emma’s inner character, the great changes in her emotional landscape, her search for truth, and her pragmatic adaptation to the reality of her environment. While set in 1940s Switzerland, the film speaks urgently to our present moment. As women’s rights erode across Europe and beyond, Emma’s story becomes both a memorial and a manifesto. This is not a period piece, but a mirror.
Production/distribution
PRODUCTION 1:
Box Productions - Elena Tatti, Nicolas Wittwer
Chem. du Martinet 28
1007 Lausanne, Switzerland
Tel: +41 41213126411
E-mail: info@boxproductions.ch
Web: http://www.boxproductions.ch
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/BoxProductionsCH - Facebook, https://www.instagram.com/box_productions/ - Instagram
PRODUCTION 2:
Hélicotronc - Julie Esparbes
Rue de Suisse 16
1060 Saint-Gilles, Belgium
Tel: +32 3225392357
E-mail: info@helicotronc.com
Web: http://helicotronc.com
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/helicotronc - Facebook, https://www.instagram.com/helicotronc/ - Instagram
PRODUCTION 3:
Offshore - Emmanuelle Latourrette, Fabrice Préel-Cléach
81 Boulevard Richard Lenoir
75011 Paris, France
Tel: +33 33175436500
E-mail: offshore@offshore.fr
Web: http://www.offshore.fr/
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/OffshoreFilms - Facebook, https://www.instagram.com/offshorefilmsfr/?hl=en – Instagram
OTHER PRODUCTIONS:
Françoise Mayor - RTS Radio Télévision Suisse
WORLD SALES:
Salaud Morisset - François Morisset
88, Rue Armand Silvestre
92400 Courbevoie, France
E-mail: festival@salaudmorisset.com
Web: https://www.salaudmorisset.com/
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/SalaudMorisset/ - Facebook, https://www.instagram.com/salaud_morisset/ - Instagram
PRESS OFFICE:
Rosa Bosch
Tel: +34 625223113
E-mail: rmbosch@gmail.com
