video

The film Juillet is about a school in the month of July—a place inhabited by silence, anticipation, and memory. The film shows a place on summer holiday, a place that belongs to history—a French school built at the end of the 19th century that today is a symbol of generations to come.

The film follows a progressive narrative that takes us from day to night, from indoor to outdoor space. Its length and the fading light over the course of the day expresses this notion of anticipation, further emphasized by the sound of the ticking clocks.

By emptying classrooms of desks and chairs, Audrey Douanne emphasizes the absence of students. The sweeping, panoramic camera angles attentively observe the empty space. Time seems to stand still, giving us the opportunity to listen and think. As soon as we become aware of the absence of students, the characteristics that identify the space as a school seem to be disrupted, turning this emptiness into a space for the imaginary, a space where the mind is free to wander, a space to dream.

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