LA GRADIVA

FRANCE, ITALY | 2026 | COLOR | DCP | 145’ | FRENCH, ITALIAN

One of the increasingly rare occasions when the experience of watching a film feels like an exhilarating discovery, the feature debut of Marine Atlan is not merely another hopeful first but the announcement of a significant directorial talent. Irresistibly photographed in the hues of summer, "Gradiva" follows a group of French high school seniors on a school trip to Naples and the ruins of Pompeii, juxtaposing their expectations for the future with the grand and mysterious past that suddenly surrounds them. With keen insight into the characters, bodies and behaviours, and with the multifaceted contribution of an exceptional ensemble of amateur actors, Atlan captures the existential moment of the young people as a collective sigh, made up of tiny breaths. Her film becomes a psychological excavation into adolescence, a seismograph of youth and its unceasing tremors, a sensor for the tectonic passage into adulthood, as it unfolds through thrills, unfulfilled loves, and silent longings. At some point, Atlan will map the abrupt end of innocence as the expensive entrance fee into the world of adults. Then, the teasing and the flirting of the young protagonists will abruptly fade in the face of a rude awakening to real life. Critics' Week Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for a small masterpiece with the hallmarks of a classic film. Loukas Katsikas

DIRECTOR: Marine Atlan
SCREENWRITERS: Marine Atlan, Anne Brouillet
DoP: Pierre Mazoyer, Marine Atlan
EDITOR: Guillaume Lillo
PRINCIPAL CAST: Colas Quignard, Antonia Buresi, Mitia Capellier-Audat, Suzanne Gerin

MARINE ATLAN
French cinematographer and director. She studied at La Fémis and she has been a Cesar nominee for Cinematography. This is her feature film debut.

FILMOGRAPHY
2026 La Gradiva