For many nights, The Censor and his team have been moderating a woman’s dreams to keep them in safe territory. Tonight, nothing happens as planned. Starting with a wonderfully novel opening shot, this is a surreal, conceptual work that offers an original backstory to a person working through inner torments. The film is endlessly inventive, like a Charlie Kaufman-esque fever dream where moments of absurdity and drama collide. Astonishingly ambitious, Censor of Dreams is a magnificent display of creativity and what cinema is truly capable of when entrusted to the right hands.
Community Partner
Damien Bonnard, Yoko Higashi, Sylvain Katan, Alexis Rodney
France
2021
In French and English with English subtitles
Featured in:
International Shorts: Having a Bad Day
Misadventures, bad choices, and a series of unfortunate events are all present in this program of short films. There is some serious drama and a bit of comedy on display in these exhilarating, thoughtful, and unpredictable tales.
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Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
In 2093, a filmmaker arrives in the African village of Umata, where he meets Princess Mumbi, a woman torn between love, legacy, and the future of storytelling. It's a fabulous genre-blending fable about memory, invention and cinematic resistance.
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog's unforgettable documentary reveals the unfolding disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames in 1991 as a sweeping inferno of mesmerizing power.
Beau Travail
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Claire Denis' transfixing Beau Travail is set in East Africa. Sgt Galoup (Denis Lavant) reflects on his time in the French Foreign Legion, and the impact of the handsome Sentain (Gregoire Colin).
But I'm a Cheerleader
Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is the perfect All-American Girl, or so she thinks. That is until she’s shipped off to conversion therapy. This pitch black comedy is wrapped in a saccharine bow, featuring the icon herself, RuPaul, as a conversion counsellor.
Credits
Executive Producer
Camille Lambert, Albert Zurashvili
Producer
Charles-Marie Anthonioz, Mourad Belkeddar, Jean Duhamel, Nicolas Lhermitte
Screenwriter
Léo Berne, Raphaël Rodriguez
Cinematography
Khalib Mohtaseb
Editor
Laure Saint-Marc
Production Design
Marco Puig
Directors
Léo Berne
Léo Berne was born and raised in Aix-en-Provence, France. In 2009, he co-founded the award-winning collective Megaforce, and they have directed campaigns and music videos for Rihanna, Madonna, Tame Impala, Kid Cudi, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, among others. They wrote and directed Burberry’s Festive campaign and the Lacoste film Crocodile inside, which garnered Gold and the Grand Prix respectively at the Cannes Lions in 2021. As a photographer, he has shot fashion editorials for Jalouse, L’Officiel, and Madame Figaro Japan. He released his second photobook, Je t’aime je t’aime, in November 2021.
Raphaël Rodriguez
After studying graphic design in Paris, Raphaël Rodriguez worked on various artistic editorials, musical and videos projects for popular indie French labels and bands, including Because Music and Scratch Massive. In 2009, he co-founded the award-winning collective Megaforce, and they have directed campaigns and music videos for Rihanna, Madonna, Tame Impala, Kid Cudi, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, among others. They wrote and directed Burberry’s Festive campaign and the Lacoste film Crocodile inside, which garnered Gold and the Grand Prix respectively at the Cannes Lions in 2021.