In California

First a concentrated gaze, then fascinated observation, and finally prying that turns observation into obsession: a look can have a surprising number of nuances. Mathilde is an aspiring ballet dancer determined to fight for her place in the sun. Charles is a film student searching for his first grand subject until he realises that he has been living it all this time. An unusually open tale of a complicated relationship between two young people trying to find a niche abroad where Mathilde ventured to pursue her dreams of becoming a prima ballerina and Charles followed her devotedly. The film builds up viewer's expectations, only to subvert them dramatically. Appearing first as a poetic declaration of love and later as a study on self­ ­torture and accepting pain, the film keeps on revealing newer, deeper and more surprising layers. (IFF Bratislava)