Marine Atlan’s La Gradiva Bows at Cannes Critics’ Week

Overview

• La Gradiva, unveiled Saturday in Critics’ Week at Cannes, marks Marine Atlan’s first feature.
• Télérama named the film its coup de cœur of the sidebar, signaling strong early reception.
• The story follows French high school students on a trip to Naples and Pompeii, observing desire, tension, and shifting friendships.
• Atlan, a La Fémis–trained cinematographer, developed the project over five years and filmed with an almost documentary method using about twenty first‑time, barely adult actors.
• The title references Wilhelm Jensen’s novella that influenced Freud, and the film is set to open in France on November 4 with Les Films du Poisson and Italy’s BiBi Film producing and mk2 handling world sales.