Manifesto
INFOS
- thème Graduation film
- formation 3rd year
- durée 11:56
SYNOPSIS
1974. The day after the election of an authoritarian president, Matthias, a young photographer, discovers a student assembly in the amphitheatre in his village. Agnès calls for resistance, but Henri, the Prefect's son, opposes her and divides the group. When Agnès's brother Zyed bursts in, the situation changes...
Behind the scenes in a production conceived as a political gesture
The film Manifesto film is not only based on a political narrative, but on a very deliberate desire to make the mise en scène itself a political act. Each director does more than simply accompany the story: he extends it, translates it and sometimes even radicalises it. The project is based on a simple but demanding idea: to tell the story of a shift, that of young people moving from words to action, and to ensure that this shift is perceptible in every technical choice. Everything is designed to ensure that the form is never decorative, but meaningful.
The framework: from control to chaos
The framing work is undoubtedly one of the most revealing of this intention. The cameraman literally builds two films into one, contrasting a fluid, controlled, almost contemplative camera with a brutal, unstable shoulder-mounted camera. This is not a gratuitous stylistic effect, but a way of materialising the transition from a world that is still structured to one that is cracking and then exploding. The long sequence shots contribute to this immersion by preventing any immediate critical distance: the viewer is forced to remain in the flow, in the duration, in the tension of the exchanges.
This work is reinforced by a very precise reflection on the composition of the image. The choice of a 1.66 ratio allows us to play with verticality and the power relationships between the bodies. The frame becomes a space for ideological confrontation. When the camera gradually closes in on Agnès, it is as much an expression of emotional intensification as of political isolation. Conversely, in the sequence in the square, the camera deliberately loses its bearings, as if carried away by the events themselves, giving the chaos an almost physical dimension.
Light: from the real to the abstract
The lighting extends this logic by also working on a form of rupture. The decision to start with 16mm colour film anchors the film in a very strong historical materiality. It’s not just a question of reconstructing the 70s, but of rediscovering their texture, vibration and imperfection. It’s like a living archive, almost documentary.
The transition to digital black and white then marks a turning point. The image becomes more abstract, more radical in its oppositions, as if the world were suddenly simplified into antagonistic blocks. This visual shift accompanies the hardening of the narrative. The way in which certain characters are lit, particularly Henri against the light, contributes to this symbolic construction. His silhouette stands out without ever being fully revealed, creating ambiguity and a form of diffuse threat.
Sound: between oppression and memory
Sound acts as an invisible but essential layer of the mise en scène. The radio, which opens the film, embodies a cold, distant official voice that imposes a political framework without ever confronting individuals directly. It creates a sensation of diffuse, almost systemic oppression.
Conversely, the silences and natural atmospheres refocus attention on the characters, their doubts and hesitations. The motif of the camera going off plays a particularly strong role: it recurs like a punctuation sound, marking the turning points. This noise becomes the sign that the moment is being frozen, transformed into memory. Photography is no longer just a narrative tool, but an act of resistance.
Settings: spaces that tell the story of conflict
The locations in the film are never neutral. The amphitheatre represents a space for collective discourse, still structured and almost democratic in its organisation. The village square, on the other hand, becomes an arena where ideologies clash physically. The printing works, meanwhile, marked a turning point: it was the place where speech was transformed into action, where images became a militant tool.
As the story unfolds, the perception of these spaces changes. What was open becomes stifling, what seemed collective becomes conflictual. In this way, the sets accompany the film’s slide towards a form of radicalisation.
Technical resources: controlling clutter
The technical choices made reflect a very clear ambition. The use of a camera like the Alexa Mini LF, combined with precise optics and extensive work on filters, demonstrates a desire for fine control over the image. Even in the most chaotic sequences, nothing is left to chance.
What is particularly interesting is that the film sometimes gives the impression of great spontaneity, even improvisation, when in fact it is based on very rigorous preparation. The disorder visible on screen is constructed, thought out and organised. It is precisely this tension between technical mastery and a sense of chaos that gives the project its strength.
A rare overall coherence
What emerges in the end is an overall coherence between all the departments. The framing, lighting, sound, sets and technical choices all tell the same story, but each with its own language. The film does not seek to deliver a simplistic message, but to convey a sense of growing tension and transformation.
Crédits
Technical team
DIRECTOR : Mattéo WEBER
1ST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR : Mathilde SALA
2ND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR : Alexandre CAILLET
3RD ASSISTANT DIRECTOR : Maël LAGLAINE
SCRIPTE : Thibault ARLES
LEADER #1 : Mheȏ LOUISAR
LEADER #2 : Laurie CARRON
CASTING DIRECTOR : Mheȏ LOUISAR
CASTING ASSISTANT : Nathan ALENDROIT
PRODUCTION MANAGER : Clara LUCOT
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT : Olivia LATCHER
COMMUNITY MANAGER : Hedi KAZHRI
COMMUNITY MANAGER : Carla GARCIA
VIDEOGRAPHER MAKING OF : Hedi KAZHRI
SET PHOTOGRAPHER J5, J6, J7 & J8 : Elsa RIMLINGER
STAGE MANAGER : Katiana GOBBER
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER : Ignace
ASSISTANT MANAGER #1 Jl, J2, J8 : Zoé NEYENS
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER #2 J5, J6, J7, J8, J9 : Noguera Gauthier
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER #3 J3 : Quero Romane
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER #4 J5, J6, J7, J8, J9 : Érine Vitoria
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER #S J5, J6 : Marie Pierre
ASSISTANT MANAGER #6 Jl, J2 : Tardieu Hugo
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER #7 J3 : Gilly Grégoire
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER #8 J7, J8,J9 : Linda Anthony
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY : Milena POURPRE
FRAMER : Fabien SAMMARCELLI
CAMERA ASSISTANT : Jade GARONDO
2ND CAMERA ASSISTANT : Jade SCHNEYLIN
3RD CAMERA ASSISTANT : Anatole COSTE
2ND 3RD CAMERA ASSISTANT : Clarence LECOU
D.I.T J5, J6, J7 & J8 : Ilona BAUNARD
D.I.T Jl, J2, J3 & J4 : Nathan GALAN
CHIEF ELECTRICIAN : Nolwenn NICOD
ELECTRICIAN #1 : Nathan ALENDROIT
ELECTRICIAN #2 : Maëlys LAINE
ELECTRICIAN #3 : Malo TAULELLE
REINFORCEMENT ELECTRICIAN : Rémi Tropé
HEAD MACHINIST : Kylian GAYRAUD
MACHINIST #1 : Johan AMODÉO
MACHINIST #2 : Gabin DE COSTER
MACHINIST #3 Jl J2 J3 J4 : Camille BOHREN
MACHINIST #3 J5 J6 J7 J8 : Valentin SZEZEPANIAK
MACH #l J7 J8 : Pablo LANSADE
REINFORCEMENT MACH #2 J7 : Alan LE BIHAN
CHIEF DECORATOR : Anthony HENRY
1ST DECORATION ASSISTANT : Maëlys LAINE
ENFORT DECORATION #1 : Mila THOYER
DECORATION REINFORCEMENT #2 : Clarence LECOU
DECORATION REINFORCEMENT #3 : Camille BOHREN
ENSEMBLIÈRE : Valentine RUCHOT
PROPS MANAGER : Gerheta JUPITER
ACCESSORIES : Alicia NEVERS
CHIEF COSTUMER : Théo ROUVIER
ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNER J4 J5 J6 J7 J8 : Mathieu ROBERT
HABILITATOR #1 : Mheȏ LOUISAR
HABILITATOR #2 : Laurie CARRON
LOCATION MANAGER FILMING : Nicolas GUICHARD
SOUND ENGINEER J5, J6, J7, J8 : Manuel MOURET
SOUND ENGINEER J1, J2, J3, J4 : Fabio CLAVIER
ASSISTANT OPS JS, J6, J7, J8 : Fabio CLAVIER
OPS ASSISTANT J2, J2, J3, J4 : Antoine BERKÉ
SOUND MIXER : Manuel MOURET
POST-PRODUCTION DIRECTOR : Cassandra Chevalier
CHIEF EDITOR : Théo RICHEUX
ASSISTANT MIXER : Nicolas GUICHARD
CALIBRATOR : Nathan GALAN
VFX SUPERVISOR : Cassandra Chevalier
VFX ARTIST #1 : Cassandra Chevalier
VFX ARTIST #2 : Paul Navarro
VFX ARTIST #3 : Sam Quiles
MAKE-UP ARTIST - HAIRDRESSER : JAUNE Gaelle
Artistic List
Agnès : Elisa FIANT
Matthias : D'jim DE WALSCH
Henri : Joffrey FERRANDIZ
Gaspard : Romain RIONNET
Lucien : Mathis VIRELY
Jeanne : Silvia FERRO
Zyed : Ryan DEGERT