Lumières Françaises

ABOUT THE FILM

Liane, 19, lives with her mother and sister in Fréjus in the south of France. Consumed by aspirations of beauty and stardom, she auditions for a reality show called 'Miracle Island." The debut feature from writer / director Agathe Riedinger premiered in competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

Wild Diamond is a film about the gaze. Producer Priscilla Bertin and I have always considered it this way. The gaze in film is a very broad concept, and I wanted to explore it by creating a kind of grand trial, since looking involves expectation and judgement. You have society’s gaze at Liane, the love/hate gaze of her audience, that feeds her, and her spiteful gaze at her female friends and at men. And of course, her fascination with the icons of reality television and social media. I chose to show reality TV programs through Liane’s gaze, because I didn’t want to represent them visually. So the shows are always off-camera. Hearing without seeing allowed me to recreate the mystery, the power that Liane sees in reality television. But above all, Liane is searching for her mother’s gaze, that original gaze that makes us feel special and seen. This maternal gaze is embodied in that of the casting director. By calling Liane, then by taking her in for an audition, this woman expresses interest and desire. In a way, she is the one who brings Liane into the world. Finally, there is the way the viewer looks at Liane. It is a gaze on which I bet a metamorphosis could happen.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

A graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris (ENSAD), Agathe Riedinger is a writer, director and photographer. She experiments with different types of narration, between excess and irony, sometimes deliberately vulgar or surreal, to question a certain vision of the world, and speak of themes dear to her heart, such as emancipation and the female condition. She directed the short films J’attends Jupiter and Eve, both of which were selected in numerous festivals. Wild Diamond is her first feature film.