Oumy Bruni Garrel

Born to dance, Neneh is a 12-year-old black girl who dreams of entering the Paris Opera Ballet School. Despite her enthusiasm, she will have to redouble her efforts to escape from her condition and be accepted by the director of the school, Marianne Bellage, the guarantor of traditions and the bearer of a secret that links her to the little ballerina.

Abel, Marianne and their 13-year-old son Joseph live together in Paris. Their everyday existence is thrown into turmoil when Abel and Marianne discover that Joseph has secretly sold valuables from the family home to finance a mysterious ecological project he and his friends have in Africa. They’re about to save the planet.

A large and beautiful property on the French Riviera. A place that seems out of time and sheltered from the rest of the world. Anna goes there with her daughter for a few days of vacation. Amidst her family, friends and the house staff, Anna has to handle her fresh break-up with her partner and the writing of her next film.

Naked Blue was developed through a collaboration with Oumy Bruni Garrel, the film’s protagonist, and Devonté Hynes, who composed its score (performed by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra). From this combined star power emerges a work of startling intimacy, which follows then-13-year-old Oumy’s choreographed movements through a studio set painted an underwater blue, as she dances in front of mirrors and salutes an imaginary audience. Under the blazing lights and swelling music, her performance recalls a screen test or dance film—but the resulting work breaks free from the proscenium frame typical of those genres. — Museum of Modern Art

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