Yohan Manca

Yohan Manca started out as an actor and theater director. He was only 18 when he staged Hédi Tillette de Clermont-Tonnerre’s play, Pourquoi mes frères et moi on est parti (“Why We Left, my Brothers & I.”) His collaboration with this author continued for several years, while working on other projects, in particular with Mohamed Kacimi (Moi la mort je l’aime comme vous aimez la vie). In conjunction with his stage work, Yohan Manca acted in several feature films, in French and Spanish. In 2012, he wrote and directed his first short film, LE SAC (THE BAG), with Corinne Masiero, which was selected for numerous festivals. His second short film, HEDI & SARAH, starring Judith Chemla and Thomas Scimeca, resonated in the media by addressing the subject of harassment. It was nominated for the Best Short Film Award from the “Syndicat de la Critique” and was awarded the “Aide après Réalisation” (post filming subsidy) from the CNC. His third short film, RED STAR, with Abel Jafri and Judith Chemla, was part of the official selection at the 2021 Clermont-Ferrand festival. In 2020, Yohan Manca shot his first feature film, LA TRAVIATA, MY BROTHERS & I, which he also wrote, produced by “A Single Man”. Yohan Manca is currently writing his second feature, PIRATE n° 7, based on the work of Élise Arfi, and also produced by Julien Madon.

Director’s statement

“The film it’s loosely adapted from a play Why We Left, My Brothers & I, by Hédi Tillette de Clermont-Tonnerre, which I had brought to the stage and performed when I was 17. It’s made up of four monologues, recited by four brothers. One of its themes is the encounter of a character with art, when nothing predisposed him to that. And this idea resonated with my experience at the time. I put a lot of personal memories in this film, of my youth, of my childhood. Like the four brothers in my script, I come from working-class neighborhoods, south of Seine-et-Marne and Pantin, East of Paris. I am also of Mediterranean origin, Spanish from my mother, Italian from my father. I wanted to deal with those origins, and this immigration from the Mediterranean basin. I wanted to direct the viewer’s full attention towards an eternal subject: the way art can save us. I want to convey the life of working-class neighborhoods far from the images continuously conveyed by the 24-hour news channels, which only treat these territories as dangerous places, populated by thugs. My approach was not documentary either, as filmmakers such as Abdellatif Kechiche and Tony Gatlif have already done this quite well. My decision was to show what is beautiful and romantic in these territories. So hand-held camera and digital filming were out of the question. I wanted to avoid conveying the feeling of urgency in an area that is always shown to be hostile -- and even at war. I shot with a tripod, with a soft, assertive point of view, and I used the warm southern light, on 16-millimeter film. I find that it makes everything much more radiant and poetic.”