Forgive Me
Maïwenn Le Besco
France
2006
- I would like to ask you some questions about the past.
- Yes, the past ... Well I like the present better.
88", 35mm
Color and Black & White, French with English subtitles
about the film
Pregnant with her first child, Violette finally summons the courage to do what she has been longing to do: it is time to unfold the family mysteries. The unborn’s first gift is a film about the family he/she will be born to. Designed to give the child a chance about the way to approach his/her family, it is also a gift for the first-time mother. With her camera in hand, Violette follows her mother, sisters, a journalist her mother had met 20 years ago, and finally, her father. Through laughter, discomforting questions, strange memories and a few tears, in Forgive Me – which is somewhere between real life and documentary- nobody and no emotion escapes the camera. Maïwenn Le Besco, an actress who starred memorably in The Fifth Element, has created her own unique brand of cinéma-vérité, a psychodrama that was obviously a soul-cleansing and cathartic process for her as well. Rarely has a filmmaker been so public with her own emotions.
about the director
Maïwenn Le Besco was born in France in 1976. Originally a club performer and standup comedienne, Le Besco entered the movie business with a starring role in the French horror film High Tension. Maïwenn's most prominent film role was as the alien diva Plavalaguna in Luc Besson's The Fifth Element (1997). She made her directorial debut with I Am An Actrice (2004) and Forgive Me is the first film she has written and directed.
awards
2007 Cesar Awards: Nominated for Best First Work and Most Promising Actress (Maïwenn Le Besco)


