Boukherma Twins Bring French Rural Coming-of-Age to Venice Film Festival

The Boukherma twins present their film 'Leurs enfants après eux' at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, adapted from Nicolas Mathieu's novel. Set in deindustrialized rural France from 1992 to the 1998 World Cup, the story follows Anthony (Paul Kircher), a shy rebellious teen, and his first love Steph (Angelina Woreth). The film explores class and ethnic conflicts, notably between Anthony and Hacine, a Moroccan boy, over a stolen motorcycle. Gilles Lellouche plays Anthony's father, a former factory worker undone by alcohol and depression. The directors, born in 1992, revisit the decade with popular imagery and soundtrack, but the film prioritizes melodrama over the era's true turbulence. The 1998 World Cup victory momentarily unites the nation across class and ethnic divides.