SWAGGER

'A visually striking, atypical portrait of French youth … [that] struts its stuff with plenty of style and attitude.' – Hollywood Reporter

In the underprivileged Parisian bainlieue of Aulnay-sous-Bois, a diverse group of teenagers wrestle with familiar questions of what it means to leave childhood behind: love, identity, ambition, friendship, faith and family. But life can be hard in the suburbs of Paris and for these remarkable, ordinary teens, a reckoning with the future is something that brings with it both hope and fear. Swagger is their story, in their own words.

It is also a bold, genre-bending documentary from former music video director Olivier Babinet, with a score by Air's Jean-Benoît Dunckel. Embellishing the teens' fierce, frank and unique perspectives on their everyday realities with richly imagined fantasy sequences bringing their hopes and dreams to life, the film shines an optimistic light on a too-often dismissed stretch of the world, while simultaneously underlining the deep similarities that bind all of us together.

Unclassified: restricted to persons aged 15 and over unless accompanied by an adult. MIFF recommends this film as suitable for ages 13+