The Return of Tragedy
by Bertrand Mandico
Official selection 2020
Official synopsis
Two policemen interrupt a secret ceremony: at the back of a garden, a woman whose guts are pouring out of her stomach reveals her inner beauty. “I have never felt so full since I opened up”, she says. These are sublime takes on the theme of necessary sincerity. After numerous short films and the feature film “The Wild Boys”, Bertrand Mandico is pursuing a work that stands out in French cinema, under the sign of gore and lightness, and in close collaboration with the actress Elina Löwensohn.
Biography and Filmography
Born in 1971, Bertrand Mandico graduated from CFT Gobelins (Paris) in animation cinema in 1993. He nevertheless directed only one animated short, “Le cavalier bleu”, staging a pagan rite in a surreal set. He extended his visual experiences with miniatures for Arte. Through twilight universes, he worked on cinematographic and narrative material by revisiting genres. He wrote and directed numerous short and medium-length films selected in a large number of festivals (where some of these films were awarded prizes), including “Boro in the Box”, presented at the Directors' Fortnight in Cannes, freely inspired by Walerian Borowczyk's and echoing a retrospective he worked on in Warsaw. Bertrand Mandico’s research is polymorphic (texts, photos, drawings, assemblages) and some of his films such as “Living Still Life” are exhibited in art centers. He’s also working on a 21-film project in 21 years with Elina Löwensohn, reflecting on fiction and the different stages the actress's body is going through. This year, his second feature film, “After Blue”, was presented in competition at the Locarno festival.
Selective filmography:
2021 - DEAD FLASH (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2021 - AFTER BLUE (Dirty Paradise) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2020 - THE RETURN OF TRAGEDY (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2018 - APOCALYPSE AFTER (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2018 - THE WILD BOYS - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2016 - DEPRESSIVE COP (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2016 - SOUVENIRS D’UN MONTREUR DE SEINS (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2015 - Y’A-T-IL UNE VIERGE ENCORE VIVANTE ? (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2014 - OUR LADY OF HORMONES (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2013 - PREHISTORIC CABARET (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2012 - S… SA… SALAM… SALLAMMBÔ (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2012 - LIVING STILL LIFE (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2011 - BORO IN THE BOX (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2011 - THE LIFE AND DEATH OF HENRY DARGER (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2010 - SA MAJESTÉ PETITES BARBES (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2009 - MIE, L’ENFANT DESCEND DU SONGE (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2008 - HE SAID HE IS DEAD... (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2007 - ESSAI 135 (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2006 - TOUT CE QUE VOUS AVEZ VU EST VRAI (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
1998 - LE CAVALIER BLEU (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
Bertrand Mandico
David Patrick Kelly, Elina Löwensohn, Juliana Francis...
Venin Films
by Bertrand Mandico
Born in 1971, Bertrand Mandico graduated from CFT Gobelins (Paris) in animation cinema in 1993. He nevertheless directed only one animated short, “Le cavalier bleu”, staging a pagan rite in a surreal set. He extended his visual experiences with miniatures for Arte. Through twilight universes, he worked on cinematographic and narrative material by revisiting genres. He wrote and directed numerous short and medium-length films selected in a large number of festivals (where some of these films were awarded prizes), including “Boro in the Box”, presented at the Directors' Fortnight in Cannes, freely inspired by Walerian Borowczyk's and echoing a retrospective he worked on in Warsaw. Bertrand Mandico’s research is polymorphic (texts, photos, drawings, assemblages) and some of his films such as “Living Still Life” are exhibited in art centers. He’s also working on a 21-film project in 21 years with Elina Löwensohn, reflecting on fiction and the different stages the actress's body is going through. This year, his second feature film, “After Blue”, was presented in competition at the Locarno festival.
Selective filmography:
2021 - DEAD FLASH (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2021 - AFTER BLUE (Dirty Paradise) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2020 - THE RETURN OF TRAGEDY (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2018 - APOCALYPSE AFTER (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2018 - THE WILD BOYS - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2016 - DEPRESSIVE COP (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2016 - SOUVENIRS D’UN MONTREUR DE SEINS (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2015 - Y’A-T-IL UNE VIERGE ENCORE VIVANTE ? (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2014 - OUR LADY OF HORMONES (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2013 - PREHISTORIC CABARET (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2012 - S… SA… SALAM… SALLAMMBÔ (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2012 - LIVING STILL LIFE (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2011 - BORO IN THE BOX (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2011 - THE LIFE AND DEATH OF HENRY DARGER (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2010 - SA MAJESTÉ PETITES BARBES (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2009 - MIE, L’ENFANT DESCEND DU SONGE (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2008 - HE SAID HE IS DEAD... (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2007 - ESSAI 135 (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
2006 - TOUT CE QUE VOUS AVEZ VU EST VRAI (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter
1998 - LE CAVALIER BLEU (Short) - Bertrand Mandico - Director, Screenwriter