Bringing together short films by François Truffaut, Agnès Varda and Jacques Rozier, this programme captures the free and inventive spirit of a generation on the cusp of the French New Wave. Shot in the South of France rather than Paris, the films already experiment with form, blending playful storytelling, a lightness of tone, and breaks from the conventions of classical cinema.

Programme

Les Mistons The Mischief Makers France 1957 | François Truffaut | vostEN | 19’ | digital | Cast : Bernadette Lafont, Gérard Blain

In the south of France, a group of jealous boys (“les mistons”) make life impossible for a young couple in love: Bernadette and Gérard.

Du côté de la côte Along the Coast France 1958 | Agnès Varda | vostEN | 28’ | digital | documentary

A journey along the Riviera. The exoticism, the colours of tourism, of the Carnival and of Eden. An island. Beach umbrellas closing to a beautiful song by Georges Delerue.

Blue Jeans France 1958 | Jacques Rozier | vostEN | 24’ | digital | Cast : René Ferro, Francis de Peretti

In Cannes, two boys looking for a date for the evening wander around and clumsily try to pick up girls.