The Balconettes

Les femmes au balcon

TIFF65: Greek Premiere
As a heat wave brings a Marseille neighborhood to the boil, three roommates gleefully meddle in the lives of their neighbors from their balcony. Until a late-night drink turns into a bloody affair... Written in collaboration with Céline Sciamma, Noémie Merlant’s follow-up to her 2021 debut is a brazen, in-your-face-foray into genre, a whimsical investigation of the hidden mechanisms of the male gaze, and a prime example of feminist horror comedy – without an agenda. Sometimes gory, sometimes playful, but always vengeful, this surprising gem allows its characters to reclaim, revise, and revolutionize their (forced) hypersexuality, slowly building a universe likened by the international critique to the early punkish but profoundly colorful films by Pedro Almodóvar. This ambitious portrait of three women on fire invites the viewer to enter a battlefield at their own risk, not to witness but to help women's anger defeat male entitlement. More than a laboratory to test different (but equally fun!) models of storytelling, The Balconettes is a testament to an era where the discussion on women's right to representation is finally open.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Noémie Merlant
Script: Noémie Merlant, Céline Sciamma
Cinematography: Evgenia Alexandrova
Editing: Julien Lacheray
Sound: Armance Durix
Music: Uèle Lamore
Actors: Souheila Yacoub, Sanda Codreanu, Noémie Merlant, Lucas Bravo, Nadège Beausson-Diagne, Christophe Montenez
Production: Nord-Ouest Films
Producers: Pierre Guyard
Co-production: France 2 Cinéma
Costumes: Emmanuelle Youchnovski
Sets: Chloé Cambournac
Make Up: Vesna Peborde
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: France
Production Year: 2024
Duration: 104'
Distribution in Greece: Cinobo
Contact: mk2 Films

Noémie Merlant

Noémie Merlant is a French actress and director. As an actress, she has worked with many prestigious directors, such as Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, 2019), Jacques Audiard (Paris, 13th District, 2021), Todd Field (Tár, 2022), and, most recently, Audrey Diwan (Emmanuelle, 2024). In 2023, she won a César award for her performance in The Innocent by Louis Garrel. After directing several shorts, Noémie Merlant wrote and directed her first feature Mi iubita mon amour, in 2021. Her second feature, The Balconettes, in which she co-stars with Souheila Yacoub and Sanda Codreanu, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2024, in the Official Selection.

Filmography

2017 Je suis une biche (short)
2019 Shakira (short)
2021 Mi iubita, mon amour
2024 The Balconettes