LANGUE ÉTRANGÈRE World Cinema

US Premiere

Cultural borders and language barriers meld together in Claire Burger’s third feature, a Franco-German coming-of-age love story. Timid, reticent Fanny from Strasbourg and outspoken, headstrong Lena from Leipzig are pen pals who embark on a language exchange program. An initial hostile encounter soon thaws toward a budding romance and an intensely volatile friendship marked by neurotic fixation and teenage angst. Burger, along with co-writer Léa Mysius (THE FIVE DEVILS, AFI FEST 2022), boldly tap into the complex psyche of contemporary youth marked by political activism and shifting identities, while still opening a channel for intergenerational dialogue through seasoned arthouse darlings Nina Hoss and Chiara Mastroianni’s sharp-witted turns as familial figures. Washed in a palette of cloudy pastels and blues, LANGUE ÉTRANGÈRE explores complicated desires for collective ambition in a Europe that’s on the precipice of transformative change. –Anna Li