THE TEST

(A l’épreuve)

TELEVISION COMPETITION
MELVILLE THEATRE
Drama

THURSDAY OCTOBER 31
8:10 pm (Screening ends at 9:45 pm)
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1
10:30 pm
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2
9:00 am (Screening ends at 10:35 am)
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3
3:00 pm (Screening ends at 4:35 pm)

Presented in association with:
Film & Picture
France Televisions
TITRAFILM

Directed by: Akim Isker
Written by: Fanny Chesnel, Noémie De Lapparent
Produced by: Chloé Besomi, Gérard Pont & Gérard Lacroix (Morgane Productions), France Télévisions
Cinematography: Pénélope Pourriat
Film Editing: Aurique Delannoy
Original Score: Éric Neveux
Cast: Frankie Wallach (Ambre), Bernard Campan (Jean-Yves),
Clémentine Célarié (Desailly), Zacharie Chasseriaud (Chems), Moussa Sylla (Babaly), Chad Chenouga (Youssef), Anne Suarez (Sandrine), Amaury Leroy (Nolan)
International Sales: Film & Picture
Original Broadcast: France 2 (September 25, 2024)

Ambre is a young single mother, living in a modest apartment with her parents and her four-year-old son, Nolan. When she fails to pass her law exams a second time, an argument erupts with her overly ambitious parents, who keep pushing her to become a lawyer. Feeling suffocated, Ambre packs her bags and moves out, on the spot, determined to make it on her own. But finding an apartment and even a menial job, with no training whatsoever, proves to be a challenge. And the only decently-paid position available to her is as garbage collector for the City of Paris. Screened on France 2 in September, as part of a special evening highlighting the struggle of single mothers in France, The Test is a poignant illustration of Ambre’s plight, the unfaltering solidarity she slowly builds with her colleagues, and the lessons she learns along the way.

Born in Algiers and raised in France, Akim Isker began his career as an actor and an assistant director. He began directing with two episodes of the TV series P.J. (2009), then directed the feature La Planque (2011). He has directed episodes of numerous series, including The Judge Is a Woman (2014-2016), Captain Sharif (2016-2017), Research Unit (2017), Ben (2018), Super Jimmy (2019), Visions (2022), Les Rivières pourpres (2022). His TV movie credits include Copy Cat (2020); L’Enfant de personne (2021), which won the Best Director Seoul International Drama Award; and Tout le monde ment 2 (2024). The Test premiered at this year’s La Rochelle Festival of Fiction, in September, where it was honored with the television festival’s grand prize, as Best TV Movie, and the Unifrance Foreign Press Award.