Céline Roustan

It’s already April, Spring is here and the Summer has never felt closer. To help with the two-month wait, let director Joanny Causse take you camping, immersing you in the hazy energy of a campground, with all its daily activities and families enjoying their vacation. Summertime camping is a staple of French culture, a ritual Causse grew up with and wanted to honor with his short documentary Cigales (Cicadas).

Having spent his own family summers on the campsite, Causse is very familiar with that environment and was inspired by the way these “gated” sites create “temporary microcosms of France (and Europe), with people of all ages and origins gathering daily”. Drawing from his own experiences to get a specific idea of what he wanted to capture, the director explained that his starting point was to “portray a place millions of people visit each year through the tiny personal stories developing among the crowd or in the darkness of hot summer nights”.

Revealing that he never really agreed with the way that media generally portrayed camping, Causse and his producer/editor Violaine Garsault aimed to capture the unique feeling of being on a campsite, by creating a sense of place and capturing the wide range of vacationers with an observational approach. His nostalgia is very much a filter for his lens, but the film does capture the atmosphere with love and fondness, from its chaotic moments, to the quieter ones. As we get to witness the beauty of the camping experience first hand, we also get to see the importance of spending time together, as a family unit.

“We wanted people to feel comfortable with us around so we spent a lot of time, especially early on just being there in plain sight and introducing ourselves.” – Causse on their approach to filming.

Summertime is also a very important moment for teens, and the promise of the time spent on campsite, away from everyday life, allows them to truly let go. To capture these moments with authenticity, Causse knew that he had to build a rapport with the holidaymakers and be as non-intrusive as possible. With his tiny crew of three (Causse, Garsault & Sound Operator Simon Moyse), they spent a week onsite, getting as much material as possible. Their time at the location meant they became familiar with the strategic shooting locations throughout the day, but also allowed them the opportunity to “embrace some of the unexpected moments”, which came along. “By the end of the shoot the whole place knew us well so we spent more time politely refusing invitations to drink or eat than working”, Causse jokingly shared with us.

With lots of footage of footage at their disposal, when Garsault and Causse went into post production they found that by shaping the film around one day it allowed them to create a representation of the whole vacation experience. Inviting the audience to feel part of the experience, the observational approach of the short includes its viewers in the activities, as if we were right there alongside all these people. This immersive approach is vital in helping to understand the appeal of camping, while also giving the film its emotional depth. 

We are excited to host the World Premiere of Cicadas on Short of the Week and look forward to featuring Causse’s previous short film, Rachels Don’t Run, when it becomes available. With the director now currently developing two new genre shorts, we’re also excited to hear that’s he transitioning to the world of features, with an adaptation of the aforementioned Rachels Don’t Run, and a documentary exploring traditional healing and the science of pain.