THE BALCONETTES (LES FEMMES AU BALCON) After Dark

THE BALCONETTES (LES FEMMES AU BALCON)

U.S. Premiere

Following a string of notable performances in films including PARIS, 13TH DISTRICT and TÁR, actor/director Noémie Merlant’s sophomore directorial effort, which premiered in the Midnight section at the Cannes Film Festival, proves a confidently daring tilt of a cultish horror comedy with an emphatically feminist flair. During a blistering heat wave in a Marseille apartment block, a vibrant trio of best friends, writer Nicole (Sanda Codreanu), camgirl Ruby (Souheila Yacoub) and actress Elise (Merlant), sweat it out on their balcony, one primed for people-watching and gossiping – especially around their shared crush, a handsome yet mysterious photographer living in the opposite apartment. A meet-cute scores them an invitation to a late-night party before things take a piercingly sinister turn. Written in collaboration with filmmaker Céline Sciamma who has remained Merlant’s mentor since PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (AFI FEST 2019), THE BALCONETTES is as much a supernatural, genre-defying romp as it is a medley of female defiance in the face of masculine entitlement and sexual violence. –Anna Li

Noémie Merlant has worked with many prestigious directors, including Jacques Audiard (PARIS), Todd Field (TÁR) and Audrey Diwan (EMMANUELLE). She wrote and directed her first feature MI IUBITA MON AMOUR in 2020. THE BALCONETTES, her second feature, premiered in competition at the 2024 Cannes Festival.

Eric Perley
The Forge
ericperley@theforge.biz

Details

Country: France

Year: 2024

Director: Noémie Merlant

Screenwriter: Noémie Merlant

Producer: Pierre Guyard

Executive Producer: Ève Machuel

Director of Photography: Evgenia Alexandrova

Editor: Julien Lacheray

Production Designer: Chloé Cambournac

Costume Designer: Emmanuelle Youchnovski

Music: Uèle Lamore

Cast/Featuring: Souheila Yacoub, Sanda Codreanu, Noémie Merlant, Lucas Bravo, Nadège Beausson-Diagne

Running Time (minutes): 104

Language: French

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