This is the directorial debut of Félix de Givry, known as a producer of Arco and Coma. The lead role is played by Milo Machado Graner, who emerged as a rising international star with Anatomy of a Fall. “This story begins with the end and ends with the beginning,” says Françoise Lebrun from The Mother and the Whore, introducing the film. After writing farewell letters, a fourteen-year-old boy who has been bullied by his peers disappears. Given the fifty-two letters he leaves behind, in which he writes, ‘This was murder, not suicide,’ people assume he must be dead. This is a rare thing these days: a lyrical, romantic film. The deep, glowing color and retro texture achieved through 16mm cinematography bring the film’s atmosphere fully to life. It is no surprise, then, that the film invites comparisons to the coming-of-age films directed by Truffaut and Malle in the 1960s and ′70s. Cinephiles will add Pialat and Eustache to that list as well. It is no accident that Lebrun lends her voice to the film.
While studying at Sciences Po Paris, Félix de Givry entered the film world with a role in Olivier Assayas′s Something in the Air (2012), followed by the lead role in Mia Hansen-Løve′s Eden (2014). On that set, he met Ugo Bienvenu, with whom he founded the production company Remembers, and he honed his directorial skills making several shorts, including L′Entretien (2019). He co-wrote and produced Bienvenu′s animated feature Arco (2025), which won the César for Best Animated Feature and earned an Academy Award nomination. His directorial feature debut, Goodbye Cruel World, was selected as the closing film of the 2026 Cannes Critics′ Week, opening a striking second chapter in his transition from an actor to director.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
