CRAVATE, 11min., Canada
Directed by Clement Faure
When Mav wakes up from another mysterious nightmare, he decides not to take his medicine that day. Locked in a dark basement residence and haunted by his work, he wishes he would have a break. That morning, Mav doesn't expect to face someone he might know.

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Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I got the main idea for this film one morning 7 years ago. I woke up after a sleepless night and went to the bathroom to wash and dress. I started to look at myself in the mirror and as I was staring intensely at my reflection , I became aware of these two characters, these paradoxal life paths's desires inside me. My conscious wanted something and my unconscious (reflection) was saying something else. That was also explaining why I was not sleeping, why I was so stressed and anxious in my life at that time: my two selves were not aligned.
Then I knew I wanted the story to take place in a dystopian universe, a near future but where the viewer would feel the underground confined environnement. This place is the metaphorical representation of the first character's psyche obviously. Then the bathroom is the place where you wash yourself, you wash your sins maybe, you wash to make your mind cleaner, clearer. I knew I wanted these metaphorical aspects in the film that added another layer to the story.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

So the first idea came to me 7 years ago but the production started years after that and the editing lasted quite a while too. Between the first script and the finished editing, it took about a year.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Maybe one of these combinations:

A Determined Choice
Dystopian Matter
The Enslaving Suit
Myth and Determinism
The Ariadne's thread
Theseus and the Minotaur

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

I think the editing was the hard part to complete because as the story was dealing with a lot of topics from my own life, facing the editing myself triggered many emotions.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I was very touched while listening to the different reactions to the film. The audience got the message and linked the fiction with reality. People perceive and interpret different things to a same movie and that's what magical with Art in general.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

I think I figured I wanted to tell stories when I was 25, not particularly through films but also with music videos and photography. But my work on "Cravate" definitely opened new horizons!

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Without any doubt that would be "2001 A Space Odyssey" by Stanley Kubrick.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

I think what festivals offer is already essential: a film meets its audience and a movie team shares its work with people.
What I find even greater is to be able to talk and share about our experiences of the film as your festival offers, for example this interview or the audience reviews' videos and the podcasts. Art is also made for sharing perceptions, messages, feelings about stories and that's great to have these many ways to do it.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

That was my first time submitting a film on FilmFreeway and I've been pretty happy about it. I think the platform is super efficient in what it does plus really exhaustive with the different festivals around the world. Also the different filters to browse festivals are pretty useful.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Ahah! I think I'd say "Bò Bún" is my favorite meal, this is a Vietnamese meal made out of rice noodles topped with stir-fried lemongrass beef served with cucumber, grated carrots and peanuts. I could also have answered some french meals like "Cassoulet" or "Tartiflette" but I'm more into healthier food that won't bring me to sleep all day!

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Yes! Many projects to come. I also just got my permanent residency in Canada, I now live in Whitehorse, Yukon and the local film community is amazing! I'm currently working as a filmmaker there and some cool projects are coming for 2025 including a few music videos, one documentary and two shorts. Obviously we are going to take advantage of our beautiful and magical environment: The Northern wilderness!