Novelist and screenwriter Emmanuèle Bernheim and filmmaker Alain Cavalier have been friends for 30 years. They are preparing a film based on the former’s autobiography, “Tout s’est bien passé” (Everything Went Fine). In it, she tells how her father asked her to “end it” in the wake of a heart attack. Cavalier suggests that she plays herself, and that he plays her father. One winter morning, Emmanuèle calls Alain; they will have to postpone the shoot until the spring, as she needs an urgent operation.

Living and Knowing You Are Alive

“I have on occasion experienced filmmaking as an intensely shared activity. Lively friendships result and remain. Filming that affection today is no act of nostalgia. Paths once crossed make things simple. People who have been behind the camera, or in front of it, giving the movie their all, are without illusion.” (Alain Cavalier)

L'amitié

Each morning, Bartabas works with his favorite horse, Caravage. They share a silent conversation in which they guide each other. Will they reach a certain perfection which will allow them to perform before the public ? The filmmaker has been given access to witness this intimate relationship: health hiccups, sessions that don't work out and the questioning they lead to, perfecting the act, tasting the joy of a flawless performance. As the film goes by, a trio comes to life, where hearts beat as one. The spectator will perhaps make the trio a quartet.

Le Caravage

Philippe :  An actress, a member of the Académie française, a boxer, an actor... Philippe, an all-round athlete of the televised interview, prepares to interview them one after the other. Half an hour each, without deletions, in a single afternoon. He takes some pills to calm himself down. He expects the marathon to be tough.  Bernard :  With improvised lighting on the stage of a small theater in Beauvais, Bernard, an actor, performs for the first time a play that he wrote and in which he's the only actor. He moves the spectators, but can't yet imagine where this performance will lead.

Six portraits XL 3: Philippe et Bernard

Léon :  This morning, Léon the shoe-repairer puts up a sign in his store that he's managed for forty-six years : "Closing down in two months." Panic sets in among the neighborhood inhabitants, who adore this big-hearted Armenian with an amazing face. Is there some way to make stay longer ? Guillaume :  Four o'clock in the morning, Guillaume arrives at work first, ahead of his team. At the end of the day, he will have sold all his cakes and bread, that's how good they are. In the evening, he and his wife Jasmine dream of buying a bigger and better located pastry store.

Six portraits XL 1: Léon et Guillaume

Jacquotte :  Once a year, in July, on the way to vacation, Jacquotte relives her childhood for a few hours in her beloved parents' home, which has remained intact. They died long ago, but nothing has been touched in the house. One day, it may be necessary to sell it. Daniel :  Before leaving his apartment, Daniel checks ten times that he's closed the windows and turned off the taps properly. Obsessed by cleanliness, washing his hands is a whole ritual. He goes down to the café to try his luck with scratch cards. In the past, he was a very talented filmmaker, before giving it up. Why does he never want to talk about it ? He jokes and moves on to another subject.