Martyrs for the cause - Short film

SHORT SYNOPSIS Set in the present day, we follow seven middle-class women, including Seïda, the featured character, who has been sexually assaulted. As she writes a letter to her attacker, her six friends support her and add their voices to the message. The result is an intense wave of solidarity. In response to the violence they have endured, and empowered by the power of adelphity, the seven young women plan a major coup: a political act of protest. INTENTION NOTE Reticence towards feminism has always existed and, to tell the truth, it hasn't changed much. In anti-feminist discourse, the rhetoric defending the idea that feminism takes on forms that are too aggressive, too extremist, too disturbing and too violent is recurrent. It has become commonplace to read articles empathetic towards men terrified at the thought of a sexual assault complaint being lodged against them. Feminists retort: "Feminism has never killed anyone. Machismo kills every day." But is this presupposition true? Has feminism really never killed anyone? Is it genuinely peaceful? And above all, should we brandish this supposed non-violence as a supreme value? Do we have to waste time showing off and trying to convince the world of our kindness and inoffensiveness? What would happen if "feminist terror" became real? If men really started to be afraid? Intense, deep, visceral fear. But how legitimate and productive would this terror be, without creating an irreversible effect? Is it worth fighting the master with the master's tools, at the risk of reproducing the same patterns of oppression that will only benefit a privileged few? Martyrs for the Cause is a short fiction film in manifesto form, lasting 10 to 12 minutes, that takes us off the beaten track and invites reflection and debate. Do we have to resort to violence to make ourselves heard? Is the option of lucid, assertive suicide a tool of resistance, or one that's unique to each individual? In this short film, the opening scene suggests that these seven young women, in response to the violence they have suffered, will let go of everything they are, everything they have and, together, set themselves on fire. This short film explores the limits of violence and opens the debate on the question of suicide as an option for asserting oneself and taking power by choosing one's own death in full awareness. At the end of the film, a scene in which the characters are asleep suggests that it was all a dream. The two potential endings - suicide or not - can then coexist in the viewers' mental projection, while pointing to the same moral: that of liberation from their condition. In other words, whether you're for or against suicide as a power grab, the film's moral remains the same: the beauty of their adelphity. FILM CHARACTERS FILM MOODBOARD FILM CREW Director/Producer - Aubane Filée 1st Assistant Director - Aleïda Lorenzen Chief Operator - Anne Fotso Continuity supervisor - Penelope Matigot Set designer - Anaïs Legrand Costume designer - Usha Lathuraz Editor - Lucile Gautier Stage manager - Anouk Rubens Assistant Stage Manager 1 - Justine Sépul Assistant Stage Manager 2 - Sacha Buquet Assistant Stage Manager 3 - Camille Georges Set photographer 1 - Joris Degas Set photographer 2 - Sarah Brunori TECHNICAL DETAILS Running time: 12 min Length of shoot: 4 days Shooting date: May 30 to June 2, 2024 Location: Liège (Bassenge) Medium: Digital (color)