Top 200 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2023: #110. Marie Amachoukeli-Barsacq’s Ama Gloria

Ama Gloria

One-third of the trio who won the Camera d’Or for Party Girl back in 2014, Marie Amachoukeli-Barsacq is the last one out of the gate to move into a sophomore feature. The French filmmaker of Georgian background moved into production back in March. Produced by Lilies Films (Celine Sciamma’s films) and recipient of CNC’s advance on receipts, described as a hybrid film, Ama Gloria (formerly titled “Rose Hill”) stars Ilça Moreno, Louise Mauroy-Panzani, Fredy Gomes Tavares, Abnara Gomes Tavera and Arnaud Rebotini. On paper this tale about six-year-old Cléo who loves Gloria (her nanny) to the moon and back sounds like a tear-jerker and taps into a motherly figure that is rarely addressed in cinema. In between projects, Amachoukeli-Barsacq did writing gigs for Vincent Mariette’s Les fauves (2018) and Franco Lolli’s Litigante (2019). We hope this lands on the Croisette.

Gist: Cleo is six years old, has a myopic look and has been madly in love with Gloria, her nanny, since she was born. When Gloria receives a call and must urgently return to her home in Cape Verde to care for her two children, whom she has not raised, Cleo makes her promise to meet one last time. Gloria accepts and invites Cleo to spend the summer vacations on her island. A last summer that they will spend together, in Gloria’s family, before inevitably saying goodbye.

Release Date/Prediction: This could be featured in one of the sections along the Croisette from Critics’ Week, to Directors’ Fortnight down to the Un Certain Regard section.