INSTINCTS CONJUGAUX
2026 · 2m
Directed by Mathilde Paquereau
Genres: comedy, documentary, satire
Tones: absurdist, tender, whimsical
A mockumentary explores a young urban couple's intimate life as if it were a fascinating animal phenomenon, between daily rituals, territorial conflicts, and tender compromises.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A mockumentary about domestic intimacy masquerading as nature documentary is exactly the kind of conceptual inversion that makes everyone else groan—until they realize it actually works, and then they're annoyed they didn't think of it first.
Paquereau's structuring discipline here is austere: the mockumentary form channels a rich lineage from Wiseman through to contemporary satire, and the restraint in execution—never overselling the bit—proves the formal rigor.
The entire film hinges on a single tonal choice: treating a couple's mundane negotiations with the deadpan reverence of a David Attenborough narration, and somehow that one commitment to unblinking sincerity is what makes the absurdity sing.