At the end of the 1980s, a mother and her two sons set foot on French soil for the first time. The hope of a better life leads them from the Ivory Coast to the suburbs of Paris—a place that offers both promise and disillusionment. Over three chapters, a family history unfolds that tells of new beginnings, motherly love, friction, and maturation. While the sons search for their way between conformity, rejection, and self-assertion, the mother struggles with social stereotypes, isolation, and her own expectations of a happy life. Carefully and clearly observed, a portrait is drawn that combines personal experiences with larger political issues—migration, belonging, and social mobility. MOTHER AND SON (UN PETIT FRÈRE) by Léonor Serraille premiered in 2022 in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Hélène Louvart's cinematography was widely praised, as was the performance of lead actress Annabelle Lengronne, who won the Best Actress award at the Stockholm International Film Festival. The film also won awards at the Festival des Arcs, including the prize for Best Cinematography. Known for her debut JEUNE FEMME, the director's second feature film tells a story that is multifaceted and moving – without pathos, but with emotional force. The film was also presented at the 2023 International Film Festival Rotterdam and is considered an outstanding example of new French auteur cinema.

Keywords

• Cannes: En compétition
• Family Affairs
• Festival de Cannes
• identity
• migration

Actors

• Annabelle Lengronne
• Stéphane Bak
• Kenzo Sambin
• Ahmed Sylla
• Sidy Fofana

Director

• Léonor Serraille