Witnesses

Children’s story writer Sarah has just givenbirth to a baby boy, but shows no interest inher newborn. Her writing suffers as she getsmore and more frustrated. Her marriage withpoliceman Mehdi is the open kind that letsboth Sarah and Mehdi play with others. WhenSarah’s friend Adrien brings young Manu,whom he has just fallen in love with, to Sarah’smother’s sea house it starts a chain of events,eventually pushing Sarah to write. On this lazysummer day by the sea, Mehdi saves Manu fromdrowning, setting off new emotions between thetwo. They start seeing each other secretly, buttheir love comes to a brutal stop when Manufinds strange wounds on his body – the firstsymptoms of AIDS.Set in the early 80’s, “The Witnesses” showsthe anxiety of a world caught defenseless against an incurable disease. With the vibrantlife of metropolis Paris as a backdrop, we followthe four main characters being torn apart andcoming closer together, as they deal withManu’s sickness and the directions of love anddesire.

Premiere Status
Swedish Premiere: Orig. title
Les témoins: Cast
Emmanuelle Beart, Michel Blanc, Julie Depardieu, Sami Bouajila: Producer
Saïd Ben Saïd: Script
Laurent Guyot, André Téchiné, Viviane Zingg: Cinematography
Julien Hirsch: Music
Philippe Sarde: Spoken language
French