ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT

(Un peu avant minuit)

North American Premiere | France | 2026 | Drama, Romance | 107 min | In French & Italian with English subtitles

Directed by: Nicolas Pariser
Written by: Nicolas Pariser
Produced by: Emmanuel Agneray (Bizibi), Audrey Guatelli (Dimanche Soir)
Cinematography: Julia Mingo
Original Score: Benjamin Esdraffo
Film Editing: Christel Dewynter
Cast: Melvil Poupaud (Léo), Chiara Mastroianni (Giulia), Golshifteh Farahani (Tina), Léonie Simaga (Eléonore), Clara Pacini (Emma), Anaïs Demoustier (Armelle), Micha Lescot (François)
International Sales: Pyramide International 

Synopsis

Léo is in the throes of a mid-life crisis. His father has just died. His relationship’s on the rocks. And he’s stuck in Paris. So he looks up his old buddies. But those former “intellectual leading lights” are now middle-aged washouts. And his daughter’s tirade against the patriarchy is putting a serious damper on his romantic delusions. Nicolas Pariser takes us on a meandering existential journey into the gender politics and sexual mores of one generation vs. another, motivated by Léo’s somewhat forced personal quest to examine his own psyche and behavior, and the romantic obsessions that have consumed his life.  

Director’s bio

While studying law, philosophy, art history and film studies at the Sorbonne, director Nicolas Pariser also took classes with esteemed Nouvelle Vague director Éric Rohmer at the Institut d’Art et d’Archéologie… and the master’s influence certainly shows! Like Rohmer, he went on to become a film critic, before writing and directing three shorts: Le jour où Ségolène a gagné (2008); La République (2010), which won the Prix Jean Vigo; and Agit Pop (2013). His first feature, The Great Game (2015), was honored with the Louis Delluc Prize for Best First Film, and Alice and the Mayor (2019) and Le Parfum Vert (2022) both premiered in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Pariser also directed seven episodes of the French version of the series In Treatment (COLCOA 2021). One Minute to Midnight premiered in Competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival.