Le Débutant

A self-conscious and self-referential adventure into the (pretend) lives of legendary actors in Paris.

At the Comédie-Française, there is one golden rule: the play is never canceled. Unfortunately for Nina, everything else is—just three hours before the premiere of her first staging. An actor is stuck on a train, tensions explode, equipment breaks down, egos clash, and panic sets in. With no way out and time slipping away, Nina must hold the show together at all costs. Will she make it until the curtain rises?

Vincent, a wealthy real estate agent, is invited to dinner by his sister Elizabeth and her husband Peter, both professors in Paris. Claude, a childhood friend and trombonist in a symphony orchestra, is also present. Vincent brings news from the prenatal examination of his and his wife Anna's unborn son. The name chosen by the soon-to-be parents strongly offends the others for many reasons. The dispute between the guests quickly escalates and before long the resurgence of old grudges and hidden secrets is unavoidable...

38-year-old Alice has everything to become the next editor-in-chief of Rebelle magazine except for her uptight image. But when the young and charming Balthazar, barely 20, crosses Alice's path, she realizes that he holds the key to her promotion.

An upper middle-class French family celebrates a birthday in a restaurant. In one evening and during one meal, family history, tensions, collective and separate grudges, delights, and memories both clash and coalesce.