Water Lillies

Céline Sciamma
France
2007

You don’t care. You’re on the other side now.

85", 35mm
Color, French with English subtitles

about the film

Set amidst the world of synchronized swimming, in a suburb just outside Paris, Water Lilies exactingly details the emotional landscape inhabited by three teenage girls, each of whom is simultaneously a “type”. Floriane a member of the swim team, is the cool, lush blonde with the perfect body. The smallish, more boyish Marie is reserved and shy. She is the observer. Finally, Anne is overweight and self-conscious, but she is also outspoken and extroverted. Anne has a crush on a male swimmer who, of course, only has eyes for the shapely Floriane. The dynamics of the girls’ relationships slowly take on a different tone as the emotional terrain shifts from the brightly lit –and highly structured– world of the swimming pool to the darker shades of desire, jealousy and envy that play out in the private spaces of bedrooms, locker rooms and change rooms. Gradually, the adult complexities of the private sphere start to intrude into the safer world of the public.

about the director

Céline Sciamma was born in France in 1980. After obtaining a Master’s degree in French literature, she studied screenwriting at L’École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l’Image et du Son (FEMIS) in Paris. Water Lilies is her feature film debut.

awards

2007 Cannes Film Festival: Un Certain Regard
La Rochelle Film Festival
Toronto Film Festival

screenings

February 20 Wednesday, 7:30 PM AFM Budak Caddebostan

February 21 Thursday, 7:00 PM AFM Fitaş Beyoğlu 2

February 24 Sunday, 1:30 PM AFM Fitaş Beyoğlu 7

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