Mes Provinciales plot
Full of expectations, Etienne leaves Lyon for Paris to study to become a film director at the Sorbonne Université. He leaves behind his girlfriend Lucie and promises to call her regularly via Skype. On his course he meets Jean-Noël and Mathias, they too have come to the metropolis from smaller towns and share his passion for cinema. Together they discuss the cinematic works, read texts by Flaubert and Pasolini and listen to Bach and Mahler. Jean-Noël turns out to be a pleasant friend who tries to strengthen Etienne's fragile self-confidence. Mathias, on the other hand, often comes across as stern, distant and mysterious. Nobody gets to see their student film. Etienne is especially mortified when he accidentally discovers that Mathias shares a secret with Annabelle, an idealistic young woman who lives in Etienne's shared flat and with whom he is secretly in love.