Le Mois du doc : Dix-sept ans
A documentary film, a collaborative effort, that captures the difficulty and delicacy of the transition to adulthood. With Federico Rossin, film historian
Seventeen by Didier Nion
2009 - 1h23 - For ages 14 and up
Jean-Benoît is seventeen years old; he lives with his mother in the suburbs of Rouen.
When he was twelve, his father took his own life. A vulnerable teenager, plagued by temptations of self-destruction and impulsive, half-hearted actions, he is constantly walking a tightrope. At the end of the summer, he begins an apprenticeship as a mechanic—a promise he wants to keep for his father: to have a trade, to prove himself, to make it on his own. Filmed over the course of three years, the film is part of this journey, becoming itself a space for learning and reflection.
Press Reviews
“At the heart of the film is, above all, this intimate, understated, and complex relationship between Didier Nion and Jean-Benoît—a cinematic encounter that can change a life.” Télérama, Isabelle Poitte
