Grandir is a 2013 first-person French documentary film by Dominique Cabrera. The film, whose working title was O Happy Days! (Ô Heureux jours !), is a follow-up to the filmmaker's 1995 film diary Tomorrow and Tomorrow Again (Demain et encore demain). In Grandir, Cabrera expanded her diaristic approach, starting by filming family at her brother's wedding in Massachusetts.[2] According to the filmmaker, this was a way of appreciating them more deeply, cherishing them while they're alive.[3] From there, the filmmaker continued recording events and gatherings – holidays, births, and her father's funeral[4] – in the hopes of grappling with family secrets, which might explain her anxiety and persistent insomnia.[5] She also traveled to Algeria with her sister to investigate the mysterious conditions surrounding their mother's birth.[6]
| Grandir | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Dominique Cabrera |
| Edited by | Isidore Bethel Marc Daquin |
Production company | Ad Libitum |
| Distributed by | Splendor Films[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Languages | French, English |
Cabrera met one of the film's editors, Isidore Bethel, when she was a visiting professor in Harvard's film program[7] and advising his undergraduate thesis.[8] Bethel also concurrently edited Cabrera's short film "Goat Milk," which focuses on grief and Cabrera's interactions with family living in Massachusetts.[9]
Grandir premiered at the Cinéma du Réel, where it won the festival's Potemkine Prize,[10] before screening at the La Rochelle International Film Festival[11] and ACID Cannes.[12] It received favorable press coverage from Le Monde,[13] Télérama,[14] Critikat,[15] Culturopoing,[16] and Challenges.[17] Splendor Films released the film in theaters in France,[18] and Potemkine Films released it on DVD.[19] The Institut Français in London screened Grandir in 2016.[20] A 2021 retrospective of Cabrera's work at the Pompidou Center included the film with an introduction from fellow autobiographical filmmaker Ross McElwee.[21]