ALL YOUR FACES

Opening on Friday, December 8, 2023 @ 11:00am PST.
Available for rental until Monday, December 11 @ Noon PST.

PREMIERE

At the Sacramento French Film Festival, we love director Jeanne Herry’s work! We have presented both of her previous films: In Safe Hands in 2019, and the comedy Number One Fan in 2015. We are very excited to be able to show you her powerful third film, fresh from France, All Your Faces.

All Your Faces is a sensitive choral drama (as was In Safe Hands) that fictionalizes the process of restorative justice. Herry manages to take a subject that could easily become formulaic or overly sentimental and instead crafts a captivating and surprisingly invigorating film.

First, a few words about restorative justice. Since 2014, the French judicial process has included restorative justice on a voluntary basis. Its goal is to offer a safe space for victims of violent offences and offenders to dialogue under supervision, in a secure environment. The process is always facilitated by social workers and there are many rules to abide by in order for everyone to feel comfortable.

Fanny and Michel are two social workers in charge of facilitating a series of group meetings held inside a jail. There, victims of violent crimes (home invasion, armed robbery, purse snatching) such as Grégoire, Nawelle, and Sabine, and convicts sentenced for similar crimes (but not their actual offenders), Nassim, Issa, and Thomas, speak freely and listen to each other.

The process can also be more personal, such as the one Chloé, a victim of incestuous rape, is entering. With the assistance of veteran social worker Judith, it will take months to organize a safe meeting with her brother, who is back in town after being released from jail.

No matter the process, the journeys are full of anger and hope, silence and words, fear and empathy, and often lead to reconciliation with oneself and sometimes with others.

All Your Faces is both fascinating and moving. It shows the importance of communication, and how words have the power to bring awareness and connection between people whose experiences are utterly conflicting: victims and perpetrators.

The all-star cast includes many faces familiar to French cinema lovers, and Sacramento French Film Festival attendees: Gilles Lellouche, Leïla Bekhti, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Élodie Bouchez, and veteran actress - and mother of the director - Miou Miou, as well as France’s hottest young actor, Raphaël Quenard (familiar to SFFF audiences from Hard Shell, Soft Shell from the 2022 Festival and One and Thousand Nights from the 2022 Winter Shorts Fest).

Not Rated (Adult situations).

Original Title: Je verrai toujours vos visages

Reviews

A film about the importance of dialogue and the power of words, from which we emerge with faith in human nature. Rania Hoballah - LCI

Everything rings true in this film, which is incredibly precise when it comes to revealing the emotional journeys these individuals embark upon. Fabien Lemercier - Cineuropa