Films du Québec

Jesse Camacho et Joey Klein dans We’re Still Together de Jesse Noah Klein (©Achromatic Media)

We’re Still Together est un drame écrit et réalisé par Jesse Noah Klein avec un modeste budget. Touchant et réaliste, le récit relate l’histoire de la relation étrange qui s’établit entre un jeune obèse intimidé et un trentenaire immature. Il s’agit du second long métrage de fiction de Jesse Noah Klein après Shadowboxing, projeté aux Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois en 2011.

Présenté en première mondiale et en compétition officielle au Festival de Karlovy Vary en juillet 2016, We’re Still Together avait aussi été sélectionné par le Festival du nouveau cinéma, à Calgary, Oxford, Giffoni ou Buenos Aires. Le film a remporté le Prix du Jury au Festival du film du New Hampshire en octobre et deux prix ACTRA pour l’interprétation de Joey Klein et de Jesse Camacho.

La version sous-titrée en français s’intitule Toujours ensemble.

Intentions du réalisateur

Disponible en anglais seulement

The bonds we forge with others, our capacity to love and to be loved, define the value of our experience. People can be guarded and so at times we forget how vital opening one’s self to others can be. We’re Still Together states time and again that the reward of meaningful interactions, of love, is worth the risk of vulnerability, of looking silly, of getting hurt.

The film has at its center a young man who puts love out into the world and in return is met with ridicule and scorn. Chris is too eager, too honest; his earnestness is met with a cynical scoff, or worse, verbal and physical abuse. His appearance – his weight issue – makes people turn away. In spite of all this Chris forges on, putting his best foot forward. Then Chris meets Bobby. In Bobby Chris finds a person who makes it up as he goes along and while this is exciting, thrilling to be around, Chris soon sees the backlash of Bobby’s behavior, the alienation it brings, the pain it causes to those closest to him.

We’re Still Together is in every sense a family affair. I wrote the role of Bobby for my brother Joey Klein who is an actor and filmmaker. Collaborating with family and friends –Chris’s Jesse Camacho is also a close friend – lends a level of intimacy to the world that would otherwise be unavailable. I populate the world of my film with those I have love and compassion for and I believe that translates onscreen. The juxtaposition of these two men, the polarity of their sensibilities, reinforce the power that relationships have for us. Even though they meet that evening and spend only one night together, both have a profound effect on the other. We’re Still Together shows us as we really are: scared, defensive, lonely but trying to be generous, strong, loving. It is through the exploration, the acceptance, the embracing of others that we come to truly know ourselves.