Un été comme ça

That Kind of Summer
Three hypersexual women are spending 26 days in a quiet house by the lake. They are: Léonie (serious), Eugénie (impulsive) and Gaëlle aka Geisha (flirtatious). All three are here voluntarily. They are being supervised by a social worker and, less closely, by a therapist. The motto of the undertaking: “hypersexuality is not a disease”. The aim of this experiment is not to heal but rather to enable a frank exploration of different experiences, forms and extremes of desire. It all takes place half-naked and fully clothed, verbally and physically, and in imagination and reality. The fact that the project staff are, if not affected, at least a little moved, is hardly surprising and corresponds to the viewer’s situation.
Unlike any other proponent of contemporary cinema, Denis Côté succeeds in creating dynamic cinematic spaces (sets, settings, constellations) in which experiences (psychological, physical, intellectual) may be seen as a game and, precisely because of this, can be used to pursue reality. Sometimes at a discreet distance, at others transgressively close, the camera swirls around the protagonists in this dance of trauma and lust. Norms are deconstructed, the present becomes tangible and the future conceivable. Cinema is – vibration.
by Denis Côté
with Larissa Corriveau, Aude Mathieu, Laure Giappiconi, Anne Ratte Polle, Samir Guesmi, Josée Deschênes, Marie-Claude Guérin
Canada 2022 French, German 137’ Colour

With

  • Larissa Corriveau (Léonie)
  • Aude Mathieu (Geisha)
  • Laure Giappiconi (Eugénie)
  • Anne Ratte Polle (Octavia)
  • Samir Guesmi (Sami)
  • Josée Deschênes (Diane)
  • Marie-Claude Guérin (Mathilde)

Crew

Written and Directed by Denis Côté
Cinematography François Messier-Rheault
Editing Dounia Sichov
Sound Design Sacha Ratcliffe
Sound Yann Cleary
Production Design Marie-Pier Fortier
Costumes Caroline Bodson
Make-Up Dominique T. Hasbani
Assistant Director Catherine Kirouac
Casting Denis Côté
Production Manager Yanick Savard
Producers Sylvain Corbeil, Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre

World sales

Shellac

Denis Côté

Born in New Brunswick, Canada in 1973, after studying film he made shorts and worked for several years as a film critic. In 2005, he made his feature debut with Drifting States which won the Golden Leopard in the video competition at Locarno. After the Forum screened his internationally celebrated film Bestiaire in 2012, Vic + Flo Saw a Bear took part in the Competition. May We Sleep Soundly screened in the Forum, while Boris Without Béatrice and Ghost Town Anthology were both in the Competition and Social Hygiene was shown in Encounters. He has already had over 40 retrospectives devoted to his work around the world.

Filmography

2005 Les états nordiques (Drifting States) 2007 Nos vies privées (Our Private Lives) · Maïté; short film 2008 Elle veut le chaos (All That She Wants) 2009 Carcasses 2010 Les lignes ennemies (The Enemy Lines) · Curling 2012 Bestiaire 2013 Vic + Flo ont vu un ours (Vic + Flo Saw a Bear) 2014 Que ta joie demeure (Joy of Man’s Desiring) 2015 Excursões (Excursions); short film · Que nous nous assoupissions (May We Sleep Soundly); short film 2016 Boris sans Béatrice (Boris Without Béatrice) 2017 Ta peau si lisse (A Skin So Soft); documentary 2019 Répertoire des villes disparues (Ghost Town Anthology) · Wilcox 2021 Hygiène sociale (Social Hygiene) 2022 Un été comme ça (That Kind of Summer)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2022