Faire un enfant (Making Babies)
2023 · 19m · Canada
Directed by Eric K. Boulianne
Tones: melancholic, tender
A couple's three-year journey through fertility struggles, told in bittersweet vignettes that track the humor, heartbreak, and resilience of trying to conceive as their healthy relationship buckles under the pressure.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Three years of fertility struggles in 16mm vignettes — Blue Valentine comp is grim but earned territory, and 67 conception attempts as structure is genuinely novel. Vimeo page loads the wrong film, doesn't help.
Boulianne's 16mm chapter-vignette structure spanning 67 conception attempts has Blue Valentine's emotional cartography but in fragments, which is exactly the right form. Regrettably the primary URL resolves to a different Swiss documentary, which complicates verification.
The Vimeo URL points to an unrelated 80-minute Swiss documentary about reproductive medicine, not Boulianne's 16mm 67-attempt vignette short — possible mislink. Based on metadata alone (chapter-vignette structure, 16mm, semi-autobiographical, Boulianne starring), the format sounds promising but I can't verify the cut from this page.
Reviews
Boulianne's script is articulate and smart, built on strong dialogues and real life situations, capturing both fun moments and challenging ones with raw honesty.
The chemistry between Boulianne and Florence Blain Mbaye makes the whole journey feel real and authentic, taking audiences from laughter to tears.
Festivals
- Locarno Film Festival 2023, Best Directing Award
- Toronto International Film Festival 2023
- Palm Springs International ShortFest, Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes
- Curtas Vila do Conde
- Norwegian Short Film Festival
- Show Me Shorts