During a summer in Cassis, sixteen-year-old Felix is torn between peer pressure and his father’s expectations. Until he reconnects with Milan, a former childhood friend whose presence opens up a new way of seeing masculinity and himself.

Sixteen-year-old Felix spends the summer working at his father’s campsite in Cassis, caught between peer pressure and his father’s dominating expectations. His days revolve around chores, friends, and proving himself on the cliffs of the Calanques, where competitiveness rules.

Everything changes when Milan, a childhood friend now older and more self-assured, arrives at the campsite. Milan’s independence, curiosity, and disregard for social codes intrigue Felix. They spent a day together, quickly reconnecting during conversations away from the group. For the first time, Felix discovers a space where vulnerability is possible. Yet fear and old habits resurface, and Felix retreats behind a mask of toughness. Old memories resurface, and by the next day, Milan is gone. Leaving Felix to confront whether this fleeting reunion with his childhood friend will transform him or push him further into the identity that confines him.

Entre Ciel et Mer questions the narrow definition of what it means to be “a man.” Act tough, don’t show emotions, stop crying. Even though this world looks different from my own, I deeply understand the loneliness that comes from pretending to be someone you’re not. That feeling is what connects me to Felix, our main character.

As a half-Vietnamese girl growing up, I often tried to blend in by hiding the parts of myself that made me feel different. Over time, that kind of masking can make you lose touch with who you really are. This personal experience helps me view Felix with empathy. Beneath his behaviour, I want to reveal the softness, confusion, fear, and longing for connection that he doesn’t yet know how to express. The film also comes from something close to home: my younger brother’s engagement with online discourse about masculinity. Influenced by voices on social media that promote a harsh and restrictive view of what boys should be. Watching him navigate that pressure and world views made me think about how young men can feel trapped between what they truly feel and what they believe they must show. With this film, I want to explore that tension in a subtle and human way. Working closely with actors is an important step in navigating this emotional landscape. I try to create a space where they feel safe enough to explore real vulnerability. For this story especially, it is important that the boys never appear as stereotypes but as genuine teenagers with contradictions, strengths, and flaws.

Visually and stylistically, I follow Felix’s inner experience. The sound, colours, and rhythm of the story are designed to bring the audience close to his perspective. His moments of freedom, his anxieties, and his growing self-awareness. The film invites us to look beyond the protective mask he wears and to see the vulnerability underneath.

Ultimately, Entre Ciel et Mer is about a boy searching for himself in a world that doesn’t encourage softness. It is a story about identity, belonging, and the fragile courage required to show who we really are. Through Felix, I hope to spark conversation around gender rolls young boys have to fit into and to open a space where their vulnerabilities are allowed to exist.