Les femmes au balcon (The Balconettes)

Les femmes au balcon, that's writer Nicole, camgirl Ruby and actress Élise in their flat in Marseille. Amid a heatwave, they fantasise about their handsome neighbour across the street from their balcony. Until a drink at his place late at night gets disgustingly out of hand. Noémie Merlant directs herself in her second feature film with guts and panache from the minute-long opening shot. Her co-screenwriter is Céline Sciamma, who directed her in Portrait de la jeune fille en feu. Like a feminist, French Almodóvar, Merlant blends disparate genres and moods into a flamboyant nightmare about patriarchal abuse. Even dead, the men don't give the women a break. The predominantly female crew behind and in the film indulges in unfettered fun, open and bare to the gynaecologist. Moreover, Les femmes au balcon contains possibly the funniest scream of this FFG edition and the dog with the best name.