Manu

The Belgian documentary filmmaker Manu Bonmariage is among the pioneers of European direct cinema, famous for cult programs like Strip-Tease and films like Allô Police or Les Amants d’Assise. In Manu, his daughter Emmanuelle takes us on a playful and intimate journey through his life and work. Along the way, father and daughter engage in lively discussions about life, fatherhood and filmmaking. Manu, who has always preferred to hide behind the camera—his “lifelong mistress” as he calls it—finally opens up and shares his memories, secrets and fears.

At 77, the audacious filmmaker has lost nothing of his wit, stubbornness and keenly observing mind. Both tender and fierce, the dialogue between father and daughter results in a cheerful reflexion on film, authenticity, human ethics and memory. And though he suffers from Alzheimer’s, Manu relentlessly shoots a forthcoming film project and succeeds in creating a tragicomic edge to his illness.