FCAD 2025 - In Transit presentation

Описание: Deauville 2025: In Transit Explores Intimacy Through Subtle Performances

On September 8, 2025, at the Deauville International Center, Jaclyn Bethany, Alex Sarrigeorgiou, and Sarah Keyes stepped onto the stage to present In Transit during the Deauville American Film Festival, offering audiences not only an introduction to the film but also a revealing post-screening exchange that shed light on the project’s deeply personal undercurrents; the atmosphere carried that familiar Deauville alchemy, where the elegance of the Normandy seaside meets the intimacy of American independent cinema, and from the first moments of the Q&A it became clear that In Transit belonged firmly to that lineage of character-driven dramas that do not seek to overwhelm with spectacle but instead draw viewers inward through emotional precision, reflective silences, and performances calibrated with delicate restraint, a tone reinforced by the director’s measured reflections on creative vulnerability and by the screenwriter-star’s candid insights into shaping a narrative that feels observational rather than declarative.

In Transit, a 2025 drama directed by Jaclyn Bethany and written by Alex Sarrigeorgiou, stars Alex Sarrigeorgiou, François Arnaud, and Jennifer Ehle, and had its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on August 17, 2025, a launch that positioned the film within a circuit known for spotlighting nuanced independent voices; the story unfolds in a small town in Maine, where a young bartender with no defined past agrees to pose for a painter navigating an existential crisis during an artist residency, an encounter that gradually evolves into a relationship altering both women’s trajectories, and while the premise may appear deceptively minimal, the film’s emotional architecture relies on subtleties that echo the tradition of intimate psychological dramas, with Maine’s landscapes functioning less as postcard imagery and more as an emotional canvas reflecting solitude, reinvention, and fragile human connection.

During discussions surrounding the film’s genesis, verified production notes trace the project back to December 2023, when Alex Sarrigeorgiou, François Arnaud, and Jennifer Ehle officially joined the cast, with Jaclyn Bethany directing from Alex Sarrigeorgiou’s screenplay, and principal photography commencing in Maine before transitioning to New York City, a shift that subtly mirrors the thematic movement between introspection and confrontation present in the narrative; cinematographer Sam Tetro’s visual approach embraces natural light and unforced framing, lending scenes a lived-in authenticity, while editor Shannon C. Griffin shapes the film’s 85-minute runtime with a rhythm that privileges emotional breathing space over dramatic punctuation, and composer Juampa’s score underscores the interiority of the characters without dictating sentiment, instead weaving an atmospheric layer that gently amplifies the film’s quiet tensions.

What emerged most vividly at Deauville, however, was not simply the factual trajectory of the production but the creative philosophy animating it, as Jaclyn Bethany spoke about resisting melodramatic exaggeration in favor of emotional realism, and Alex Sarrigeorgiou described writing from a place of psychological observation, emphasizing characters who do not announce their transformations but reveal them incrementally, often through contradiction or vulnerability; audience reactions reflected this sensibility, with questions circling around identity, reinvention, and the blurred boundary between artistic collaboration and emotional dependency, themes that resonate strongly within contemporary independent cinema and that In Transit explores with a restraint increasingly rare in an era dominated by heightened dramatic stakes.

Synopsis :
In a small town in Maine, a young bartender with no history agrees to pose for a painter in the midst of an existential crisis who has come to recharge her batteries as part of an artist residency. This unexpected encounter will push both women to question their vision of happiness and life.

In Transit
Directed by Jaclyn Bethany
Written by Alex Sarrigeorgiou
Produced by C.C. Kellogg, Jaclyn Bethany, Alex Sarrigeorgiou, Sarah Keyes, Tara Sheffer
Starring Alex Sarrigeorgiou, François Arnaud, Jennifer Ehle
Cinematography : Sam Tetro
Edited by Shannon C. Griffin
Music by Juampa
Production companies : Valmora Productions, BKE Productions, Little Language Films, Good Question Media
Release date : August 17, 2025 (Edinburgh)
Running time : 85 minutes