Thanks to all for the encouragement to continue this series!
Today's first film is French in origin, the English title is We Need A Vacation!
It features the talents of Aymen Saidi and Ibrahim Koma. The synopsis comes from the website of the Giffoni Film Festival, an Italian fest devoted solely to films for young people.
It’s the start of the summer vacation. Two boys around ten years old, Adama and Lucien, have to spend the whole summer in their rough neighbourhood. Their parents have no time to dedicate to them, nor money to take them on holiday. But everyone they know seems to be either talking about or going on holiday. So they decide to head for the sun on their own. Influenced by older boys – especially by Lucien’s older brother Jose – they use even the illicit means they have at their disposal. First they try to get themselves sent to Africa by saying they want to meet their parents there. Then they join in a small robbery in a shopping mall, sneak into a neighbour’s caravan just before he goes on holiday and when, to their disgust, they find themselves in a nudist camp, they set out on their own. Alone in the country they have to find somewhere to sleep and something to eat. But everything seems to be going right for them when a kind lady takes them into her home so that they can keep her son company. However, the police soon discover them and send them back home.
Director's comment
“I had an idea for a film on this subject: two kids who want to go on holiday. They see everyone else leaving, but they know that their parents have no plans. Djamila Djabri (the scriptwriter I work with) and I enjoyed writing the story, and our Producer convinced us that it could become a feature film. WE NEED A VACATION is not a film about life in the suburbs, it is about childhood in a difficult environment. The symbols of departure are everywhere! From the first of July all the children have to do is look around them. On TV, on the Radio, even the posters on the streets. Everyone is talking about holidays. The children have eyes just as we do, and the idea of a holiday becomes an obsession for them. So they use the same method as the adults to get what they want: I want, I take. Talking only about children would have turned the story into an anecdote. The children build a relationship within their own environment. Like little sponges they absorb everything they see around them".
You can find a downloadable trailer at
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) and 2 clips are available at the film's official site.
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)