Crew

Writer/Director: Julien Mouquet
Producers: Susanna Newman and Stuart Wilson
Director of Photography: Ritvik Tyagi
1st Assistant Director: Manav R. K.

Poster Design: Eteriya Edilgerieva

Production Design: Valerie J M Tengelmann
PD Assistants: Anna Abdullaeva, Antonio Bud, Noor Harajli

What’s next?

L’Hypermnesique premiered end of October 2023 and is currently doing festival-rounds, already securing three awards at the French Riviera Film Festival.

Synopsis

Gaby and Jo are an elderly couple without children, living alone in their flat. Throughout their lifetime, they each made sacrifices for each other and so never managed to live out their dreams.

As Jo approaches the end of his life his memory slowly fades away. Gaby sees a chance to give her husband a taste of the life he had never lived. Every night while he sleeps, she places false memories all over their apartment: fake trinkets and family photos filled with children and grandchildren, fake newspapers, awards and memorabilia from decades ago recounting Jo's fake seafaring exploits, and many others. 

When her attempts fail at first to get through to Jo, Gaby redoubles her efforts; driven by her guilt for failing to truly give her dear husband the things he once dreamed of. Since she can no longer rely on the future to change things, she will try to change the past to give Jo the feeling of a fulfilled life with no regrets. But can she succeed before it is too late?

Director’s Vision

Tragic situations allow people to truly show their love for each other. With the tragic events of this film, I want to encourage people to take a step back from their past regrets. Our memories shape us and allow us better understand ourselves. Some memories are comforting and encouraging, while others can haunt us and make us anxious. And when the biggest part of our lives is behind us, we have to find a way to deal with what cannot be changed.

This story is very personal and is directly inspired by my grandparents. A few years ago, in a short film in which I featured my own grandparents, I asked them to tell me the most beautiful memory of their lives. I was surprised to hear them tell me about extremely simple memories, not extraordinary tales. To them, these moments were more than simply ordinary and remained in their mind as their most beautiful memories. Perhaps it was simply because they were in a place that made them happy with the people they loved.

With l’Hypermnésique, I want to give back to the memories the value that they deserve and communicate to people that what matters is maybe not to live the most impressive life, but to appreciate the pure and simple moments that will one day form authentic and personal memories. Finally, I would like to pay tribute to all my grandparents, those I no longer have and with whom I already have my most beautiful, authentic and straightforward memories, as well as those I am still lucky enough to have and with whom I can create new memories. I want to thank them for what they have built for their families, their partners and themselves. I hope that others will recognise themselves in this tribute and remember their moments with their own grandparents or in their own life.