| |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
Jean-Pascal Hattu
I met prisoners’ wives, listened to their distress and read a lot of testimonies. One of these women would trespass on a private property every day to get closer to her husband’s cell window and catch a glimpse of him with binoculars. Another one would make a sort of shed out of the table and the two chairs in the visiting room, so she could kiss her boyfriend without being seen by the wardens. Yet another one had got used to some sort of erotic ritual, smelling her husband’s laundry before washing it.
For these women, what remains of the missing bodies they crave? A stolen glance, the smell of sweat, a few clothes, a hand they can hold during visiting hours, an erect penis they are not allowed to touch...
The character of Maďté was developed out of all these confessions and clearly implied a narrative mode that combined daily scenes of a life filled with hopelessness, yearning, recurring habits and frustration. (...) Maďté is free, but she is trapped by her love for Vincent. What could she do with her freedom? She is faithful and unimaginative. She is a victim who, one day, yields to the devil’s temptation. 7 ans becomes the story of a woman who loses herself between the man she loves and the man who makes love to her. In order to capture these moments, I wanted to write very short and simple scenes, in which silence would often be more meaningful than words. I filmed gestures, postures, glances, smiles, faces that lie to avoid sinking. I wanted these images to be the physical, sensual and emotional traces of an impossible dialogue.
Jean-Pascal Hattu
Jean-Pascal Hattu started his career as a journalist. He began working in cinema as the assistant of André Téchiné in Les roseaux sauvages and Les voleurs. He made his debut as a director with the short movie Coma (1995). He later directed two other short movies, Au-dessus de la mer (1997) and Cadeaux. He also directed a number of television documentaries among which , Gardez le sourire, the story of a young woman working as a prison guard. 7 ans is his first feature film.
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
Pressbook_7years_ENG |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
