ARI

North American Premiere | France, Belgique | 2026 | Drama | 88 min | In French with English subtitles |

Directed by: Léonor Seraille
Written by: Léonor Seraille
Produced by: Grégoire Debailly (Geko Films), Sandra da Fonseca (Blue Monday Productions), Benoît Roland (Wrong Men), Arte France Cinéma
Cinematography: Sébastien Buchmann
Film Editing: Clémence Carré
Cast: Andranic Manet (Ari), Pascal Rénéric (Ari’s father), Théo Delezenne (Jonas), Ryad Ferrad (Ryad), Eva Lallier (Clara), Lomane de Dietrich (Aurore), Mikael Don Giancarli (gardener), Clémence Coullon (Irène)
International Sales: Be For Films

Synopsis

Ari is at loose ends. At 27, he’s been trained to teach young children, but doesn’t feel up to the task. Convinced that Ari’s whole generation is spoiled rotten, his frustrated father kicks him out of his house. Emotionally raw, lost, and now totally alone with nowhere to sleep, the gentle soul ambles through the city, tracking down old friends and desperately in search of something to give his life meaning. However, the linchpin of Léonor Serraille‘s tender, highly poetic character study of a young man facing the many challenges our often-nihilistic modern world presents him with is Andranic Manet’s fragile, spellbinding performance as Ari.

Director’s biography

Writer/director Léonor Serraille was a literature student before majoring in screenwriting at La Fémis film school in Paris. Upon graduating, she directed the 42-minute film Body (2016), which was screened at several festivals. Her debut feature, Montparnasse Bienvenüe (COLCOA 2018), was based on her thesis screenplay and snagged the Camera d’Or in Cannes, the Prix d’Ornano-Valenti in Deauville, and was nominated for a César Award for Best First Film.  Mother and Son (TAFFF 2022), her second feature, was screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Ari premiered in competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.