Short of the Week - FIFIB 2014 - La Fugue - Jean Bernard Marlin

Jean Bernard Marlin’s La Fugue, one of eight shorts selected at the International Bordeaux Independent Film Festival’s 2014 edition, eschews caricature and condenscension, the two most common pitfalls of films about delinquency.

Initially, Marlin set out to make a documentary, but once faced with the difficulties and paradoxes of the judicial system and the ambivalence of the relationships between young people and their caseworkers, he opted for a drama instead and ended up directing one of the most rewarded shorts of 2013.

Caseworker Lakdar is looking after young Sabrina who is being tried for an old case. In the midst of the deliberations, Sabrina locks herself in the toilet. Hence the title (fuguer means running away).

At the heart of the film is the brutality of a system failing those it is meant to support.
The characters are portrayed with great authenticity and feeling by a largely unprofessional cast. Médina Yalaoui who plays Sabrina won awards for her performance at the Jean Carmet Festival and Saint Etienne Short Film Festival.

LA FUGUE réalisé par Jean-Bernard Marlin, Nommé pour le César 2014 du Meilleur Film de Court Métrage from Académie des César on Vimeo.