Film Screening 'Pupille' (Safe Hands)

Image

Directed by Jeanne Herry, 2018, 109 minutes.
Film in French with French subtitles (subtitles in English are not available)

To attend this event, please register here.

Jeanne Herry crafts a story stemming from a delicate two-and-a-half-month state of limbo for a newborn child, Théo, who becomes a ward of the state after his mother gives him up for adoption at birth. In Pupille (Safe Hands) choreographs parallel strands of action: the search for potential parents undertaken by the social workers managing Théo's case (Sandrine Kiberlain and Clotilde Mollet), the care and vigilance required for Théo's foster father (Gilles Lellouche) to properly nurture him in the interim, and the nine-year journey of adoption applications and fractured marriage embarked upon by a possible mother (Élodie Bouchez). Within this institutional balancing act, Herry's characters swing between intense determination, uncertainty, and, ultimately, joy: all par for the course while seeking the proper equilibrium for a person's life to begin. Nominated for seven César Awards including Best Film, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay.