Rodeo

A daredevil female motorcyclist revs after a place to belong in this high-octane French genre mashup.

Teenage motorcyclist Julia was born to ride, and woe betide anyone who gets in her way. She muscles into the underground motocross stunt ‘rodeo’ scene in the northern outskirts of Paris, where she threatens and angers some boys in the B-Mores gang while earning the wry respect of others. Their leader, incarcerated chop-shop owner Domino, quickly recognises Julia’s potential, but his tough yet vulnerable wife becomes a more complex kind of ally. And when Julia reveals her idea for their most audacious heist yet, the rubber meets the road in the riskiest way possible.

In preparation for her electrifying fiction feature debut, which won the Un Certain Regard Coup de Coeur Award at Cannes, director Lola Quivoron spent months hanging out with real suburban bikers. She later found her star, mesmerising newcomer Julie Ledru, pulling stunts on Instagram. Mingling a deconstruction of gender roles, a gritty underclass coming-of-age story and a biker-gang action flick, Rodeo seemingly takes parts from Céline Sciamma’s Girlhood (MIFF 2019), Julia Ducournau’s Titane (originally slated for MIFF 2021) and Andrea Arnold’s American Honey, then assembles them into a daringly original and thrilling narrative engine.

“A combustible fusion of crime story, character study and existential mystery, a tale of celebration and lament, and it announces the arrival of a gifted and adventurous filmmaker.” – Hollywood Reporter

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Director Lola Quivoron will introduce the film and participate in a Q&A with writer and cast member Antonia Buresi following all screenings.

Please note: The Wednesday 17 August session will screen with Open Captions. Click here to find out more about Access at MIFF 70.