C’est déjà l’été

BELGIUM / NETHERLANDS DIRECTOR: MARTYN MARIA SMITS 2010 / 85 MIN. / FRENCH VERSION WITH CZECH AND ENGLISH SUBTITLES CAST: PATRICK DESCAMPS, BENJAMIN WILLEM, JULIE ANSON

“C’est déjà l’été” tells the story of a family from the suburb of Seraing. Jean has been fired from the steel factory and he is so ashamed that he keeps this secret from his two children, Marie and Benjamin. Marie has a baby, but the child’s father is in jail. Benjamin should be going to school, but prefers to spend time with friends, mopeds, pranks and fake guns. The three family members reside in the same house, but live their lives separatly from each other. They only talk to each other when they need something. At home, they all seem to have difficulty falling asleep and are searching for a cure beyond. “C’est déjà l’été” is a portrait of a family, but above all, the story of a teenager who´s life seems to be pushed off track by the lack of a normal family. Desperately, purely by instinctive battling, Benjamin tries to lift himself out of this wretched, semi-feral existence.