SLALOM by Charlène Favier © Festival de Cannes
Slalom: on the slopes with Charlène Favier!
Part of the 2020 Festival de Cannes Official Selection, Slalom is the first film from French director Charlène Favier. Surrounded by the snowy peaks of Savoie, birthplace of the self-taught filmmaker who captures the mountains superbly, Slalom is about that crucial moment when everything could go wrong between a trainer/mentor and his protégé, a promising young alpine skier. In cinemas 19 May, just in time for their reopening!
No federation or country seems to have been spared from the phenomenon of child sexual abuse in the world of sport. However, we still have a lot to uncover surrounding this taboo subject that Charlène Favier captures in a fictional story, largely inspired by her own experience.
“Cinema is the perfect medium to listen, watch, surmise what is never said, to shed light on the good and the bad that hides deep down inside our souls. ” Charlène Favier
The film centres around Lyz (Noée Abita), a 15 year old girl and champion skier, who finds herself under the authority of her trainer (Jérémie Rénier). With vibrant and yet very controlled direction, this film shows the relentless spiral of a controlling relationship, the isolation of a young athlete, the obliviousness of her peers and the path towards resilience.
Through this film, the director wanted to make a difference. She aimed firstly to spark a debate to bring awareness to the need to denounce and break the rule of silence. Having already been described as a revelation by the press, Charlène Favier has also presented Slalom at the Deauville American Film Festival and the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival where it received the Valois Magelis of French Students.
