Juliette Léonard

Growing old as a woman is a tragedy. Without realizing it, that’s what I’ve always thought and what I’ve always been taught. So how do I get rid of this stupid idea that’s so deeply rooted in my skull and in my society? At nearly thirty, it’s time for me to talk with women of other generations and tear down some anti-aging advertisements.

Do you know the children’s story The Twelve Months? In Prague, everyone knows it. In the tale, little Maruška is sent on an impossible mission to find strawberries in the middle of winter—and she truly does. As we delve into Maruška’s story, we enter a strange space where the boundary between reality and pure fantasy begins to blur. The filmmakers Juliette Léonard and Mathilde Bédrune apply this idea to contemporary phenomena such as ASMR videos and virtual reality. This short documentary was made at the Belgian film and drama school INSAS in collaboration with Prague’s FAMU.