My Donkey, My Lover and I
Director: Caroline Vignal Run Time: 97 min. Rating: NR Language: French
Starring: Benjamin Lavernhe, Laure Calamy, Olivia Côte
Country: France, Belgium
Language: French with English subtitles
My Donkey, My Lover, and I / Antoinette dans les Cévennes is presented in the Film Center’s Virtual Screening Room as part of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, the celebrated annual festival presented by Film at Lincoln Center and UniFrance Films.
About the film:
Primary schoolteacher Antoinette is elated about her upcoming vacation with her married lover, Vladimir, but life quickly intervenes: he cancels on her to take a hiking trip with his wife and young daughter, who’s one of Antoinette’s pupils.
Fueled by impulse, Antoinette heads to the same mountainous region of Cévennes National Park with an itinerary inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes. On her spur-of-the-moment mission, she forges quick bonds with an idealistic innkeeper and Patrick, the cantankerous donkey she’s rented to help her up the mountain.
In this Cannes 2020 selection, Caroline Vignal embraces the long and winding path over the final destination with much heart and humor.
Screening as part of A Taste of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, an opportunity for audiences across the U.S. to experience a curated selection of festival highlights, showcasing the best in contemporary French filmmaking. All films include virtual Q&As.
About the filmmaker:
Though twenty years have passed since writer-director Caroline Vignal released her debut feature film Girlfriends, she never stopped writing. Her return to directing was inspired by Treasure Island author Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1879 hiking adventure Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes and her own time spent traveling the region with her family and a donkey named Patrick.
My Donkey, My Lover and I received eight nominations for the 46th César Awards, including Best Film, Best Original Screenplay for Vignal, and Best Supporting Actor for Benjamin Lavernhe, with Laure Calamy winning Best Actress.
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