On one of the last remaining French military bases in 1970s Madagascar, ten-year-old Thomas lives in what appears to be an idyllic paradise—sun-drenched days, lush surroundings, and a close-knit expatriate community. But as he begins to emulate his comic book heroine Fantômette and secretly observe the adults around him, cracks begin to appear in the surface of his family's blissful life. What he discovers is a web of entangled personal and political realities: the unspoken tensions of colonialism, the quiet violence of privilege, and the tangled desires that course through the seemingly carefree world of the grown-ups.
In his much-anticipated follow-up to the Cannes Grand Prix–winning 120 BPM, writer-director Robin Campillo crafts a visually sumptuous and emotionally layered coming-of-age tale. Red Island is both a sensuous evocation of childhood curiosity and a sobering reflection on the colonial legacy—told through the wide eyes of a child who sees more than he understands, and remembers more than he can explain.
The Albertine French Film Festival is organized by the Department of French and Italian at Ohio State and sponsored by The Wexner Center for the Arts and Albertine Cinemathèque, a program of Albertine Foundation and Villa Albertine, with support from the Centre National du Cinema et de l’Image Animée, and the Fonds Culturel Franco-Americain SACEM'.Guest speakers will introduce the films and lead post-screening conversations.
