Eat The Night

In EAT THE NIGHT, Pablo (Théo Cholbi) and his teenage sister Apolline (Lila Gueneau Lefas) spend much of their lives in the fantasy world of Darknoon, an online roleplaying game that allows the siblings—in the guises of their warrior avatars—to fly, dance, cast spells, kill and die with impunity, over and over again. For Apolline in particular, the game provides a form of catharsis unobtainable in real life, so she is understandably devastated when—at the start of the film—the game’s creators announce the impending shutdown of its server, meaning that her cherished realm’s days are numbered and total erasure is on the horizon. As Apolline enters an existential spiral, Pablo, a drug dealer, falls in love with his new business partner Night (Erwan Kepoa Falé) and struggles to protect his newfound happiness from the violence of rival dealers. A stylish techno-thriller with a throbbing heart, French directorial duo Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel’s EAT THE NIGHT also offers a striking vision of modern France and its new generations: queer, multicultural and very much online. (Beatrice Loayza)

Caroline Poggi, Jonathan: TANT QU’IL NOUS RESTE DES FUSILS À POMPE (2014, K), NOTRE HÉRITAGE (2015, K), AFTER SCHOOL KNIFE FIGHT (2017, K), JESSICA FOREVER (2019), BÉBÉ COLÈRE (2020, K), IL FAUT REGARDER LE FEU OU BRÛLER DEDANS (2022, K), BEST SECRET PLACE (2023), LA FILLE QUI EXPLOSE (2024, K)