Lumières Françaises

ABOUT THE FILM

A young single father trying to find the strength to love. A feminist librarian, single by conviction, who’s decided that she won’t be a mother. A six-year-old child trying to find a place in a new family structure. By revealing their aspirations, their fears, their choices, writer/director Carine Tardieu depicts different ways in which humans create families. Based on the novel L’Intimité by Alice Ferney.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

I wanted to tell the story of a woman asserting her emotional independence, whose foundations are shaken by an encounter. I aimed to explore a story of adoption and the powerful force of attachment. In the face of adversity, a new kind of family emerges—a protean bond formed by the emotional union of four adults as they discover and navigate their relationships, delicately balanced on a tightrope held by two children.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

After studying audiovisual arts in Paris, where she grew up, Carine Tardieu worked as an assistant director and then directed two short films that won multiple awards at international festivals. After a stint in television, where she worked as a screenwriter, she co-wrote and directed her first feature film, La Tête de Maman. This was followed by The Dandelions, Just to Be Sure (selected for the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes 2017), and then The Young Lovers. The Ties That Bind Us is her fifth film.