A short film by Bernardo Zanotta
Production: near/by film

WILD FRUITS recounts a series of episodes in the life of a fictional servant of French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, Jean Aurand, against the backdrop of the 16th century colonial expansion and religious wars. After Jean's return to France from Brazil, he meets Montaigne and develops an intimate relationship with him. One day while walking they stumble upon a group of time travellers from a distant future, on a mission that will change the life of these two men forever.

Director's Statement

"WILD FRUITS is an experimental costume drama based on the essay 'Of Cannibals' by French philosopher Michel de Montaigne. It recounts a series of episodes in the life of a fictional servant of Montaigne, Jean Aurand, which influenced the writing of Montaigne's famous text.

I have attempted to construct a filmic space as artificial as the stage of a theatre, and mixed therein both actors and non-actors, who speaking together, can testify to a kind of queer, postcolonial subjectivity.

The story is told from the main character's point of view, against the backdrop of the French colonial expansion and religious wars. It opens with Jean aboard a ship going to Brazil as part of the Huguenot group sent there to conquer an island, where a short-lived colony was forcefully established at the cost of natives' lives. It then follows Jean's return back to France, when disillusioned by the colonial project, he meets Montaigne and develops an intimate relationship with him.

Their lives are shown through portraits of their daily activities, focused on the power relation between them, Montaigne's ageing process, and Jean's search for his own identity."