Slow Down The Fall
(Ralentir la chute)
Germany, 20 min, 2022, shot on 16mm
In the light of the Alps, a great ski-jumping hill flashes metallically. Two ski jumpers synchronously rehearse movements in the valley, answer generic questions in front of a green screen and pose on the hill while being watched by a film crew. It is the first reunion for the two athletes since their separation.
crew
director: Camille Tricaud and Franziska Unger
screenplay : Camille Tricaud
cinematographer: Felix Pflieger
sound recording : Xavier Fleming and Jakob Defant
music: Bachar Mar-Khalifé
mixing, sounddesign: Gerhard Auer
color grading: Felix Pflieger
Costume designe : Simon Winkelmüller
poster design: Thea Govorchin
editor: Clara Saunier
filmstock: Kodak
producer: Felix Herrmann, Maximilian Bungarten, Camille Tricaud
Line producer: Cosima Forchhaimer
festival distribution: Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg
cast :
Coline Mattel
Verena Altenberger
Eileen Dirnecker
festivals & exploitation
awards and nominations:
Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg 2023 - Special Mention
Nomination for the Short Film Prize by the German Film Critics Association 2024
Starter Film award by the city of Munich 2024
Flickerfest Short Film Fest 2024 - Best EU Rainbow Short Film
festivals:
Festival Entrevues Belfort 2023
Palm Springs ShortFest USA 2024
Queer Lisboa 2023
Max Ophüls Preis 2024
Regensburg Shortfilm Week 2024
Trento Film Festival 2024
Riga International Short Film Festival 2024
Kitzbuehel Filmfestival
Contis international Film Festival 2024
Festival Silhouette Paris 2024
Thessaloniki International Short Film Festival 2024
broadcast
ARTE Court-circuit / Kurzschluss 2024
trailer
reviews
“This intimate drama, virtuously staged
against the backdrop of an imposing
landscape, questions the sacrifices we are
prepared to make for personal success
– whether in life or in sports.
A cinematic tour de force, that at its core is
a search for truth.“
- Jury Statemnt Hamburg int. Short Film Festival
“Ralentir la chute opens on cloudy heights that call to mind the vast, foggy landscapes of Werner Herzog’s early narrati-
ve films, before presenting an odd, martial-like choreography
by two female dancers dressed in technical gear. That feeling
of loneliness, however, is immediately counterbalanced by a
commercial film shoot. This stark reverse shot illustrates the
dilemma at the core of the film : graceful ski jumps performed
by two passionate athletes against the sponsors’ marketing hy-
pocrisy. Should we play along? The strength of that film is that
it doesn’t stop at that dichotomy, and the moral tenets of the
script never affect the (cold) sensuality of the mise-en-scène.
The film is beautiful in that it steers clear from the cynicism of commercial advertising: attention to the body, textures (the
sound design of the film is captivating), and the accuracy of
movements, makes this an unmistakably realistic film. Having
the actual ski jump champion, Coline Mattel, play one of the
athletes clinches this realistic deal; she provides us with the re-
ality of an athlete’s body, one that cannot be mimicked, as she
says in front of sponsor’s cameras.”
- Paola Raiman
Selection Commitee,
Festival Entrevues Belfort
poster