Lucie (played by Isabelle Huppert) has led a very reclusive life since the death of her partner. She hardly leaves the house, except to go to work. She works as a forensic scientist for the police. One day, a young family moves into the house next door and Lucie, driven by her loneliness, feels the need to make friends with them. After a while, however, Lucie discovers some facts on record about the father of the family, Yann. He is an anti-police activist who already has a number of previous convictions. This plunges Lucie into a conflict with her professional ethics. Despite this, she maintains her friendship with the neighbors and keeps her own identity a secret.

A simple, true-to-life film about personal suffering, loneliness – and how the human need for friendship and closeness can bridge ideological divides.

André Téchiné, born in 1943 in Valence/France, is a screenwriter and film director. Before beginning his film career, he worked as a film critic for Cahiers du cinéma (1964–1967). PAULINA IS LEAVING was his debut film in 1970. In the 1980s and 1990s, he created melodramas with many stars of the French cinema. His cinematic oeuvre was awarded the “Prix René Clair” in 2003. In 2011, he was appointed to the competition jury of the Venice International Film Festival. A documentary ANDRÉ TÉCHINÉ – FILM DIRECTOR WITH PASSION about his work was released in 2018.

Filmography (selection): 1979 THE BRONTË SISTERS, 1985 RENDEZ-VOUS, 1987 THE INNOCENTS, 1994 WILD REEDS, 2004 CHANGING TIMES, 2007 THE WITNESSES, 2016 BEING 17, 2024 MY NEW FRIENDS