TU N’ES PAS COMME LES AUTRES

France | 2025 | 5 min | col.| French

Images of a tropical landscape. Fragments from a family album. A sweet voice singing a song dedicated to the island of Réunion. Just like in the figure of speech called synecdoche, parts are used to refer to the whole: the faces of a man, a woman, a little girl are seen smiling, in pictures taken during outings, in memories from a party, a wedding. At a certain point, the voice breaks from emotion as a portrait is shown. The male figure inhabiting the album pages shatters something, creating a fracture between the time of the photographs and the present of the singing offering a glimpse into immeasurable loss. The pictures turn into ghosts, swept away by the clash between here and elsewhere, yesterday and today, the photographer and the photographed. Through minimal, precise touches, Emma Cambier outlines the story of a family in the emotional atmosphere sealed in the photo album, between the voice and the camera. A delicate gesture unravels from here, where what is important exists and pulsates regardless of being pronounced. (M.M.)