Fiction short films

LE RENDEZ-VOUS DE NOËL (Christmas rendez-vous)

André MICHEL
1960
Version : French
Duration : 26'
Format : 35 mm. - Béta SP - Mpeg4
Black & white
Scriptwriter : Malek OUARY
Producer : ARMOR Films - Fred ORAIN
Country France
With Michel PICCOLI, Michéle MERITZ, Malek SAFIR, Anna GAYLOR
Music René CLOEREC
Picture Lucien JOULIN
Stage set Flat interiors

Despite his poor marks and his father’s reprimands, eight-year-old Joseph looks forward to Christmas with confidence.
He sets off for school, determined to do better. Unfortunately, he is hit by a car. His mother refuses to accept the evidence. She believes he has run away and is preparing for his return, with the help of her husband, who is keeping up the illusion.
On Christmas Eve, she discovers, huddled against the door, a little shoeshine boy with no family and no home. His name is Youssef. Youssef… Joseph… Almost the same first name… The same age… The same candour in his eyes… The same spontaneous kindness… From now on, the little shoeshine boy will have a home.
The next morning, the parents were moved to discover their shoes shined with such care in front of the fireplace that they seemed to shine like the first time.

This film is part of the four-part series “Tous les Enfants du Monde”.