Holy Cow
The farming world is often torn between age-old traditions and industrialisation, the passing of the torch and technological change, family-run businesses and corporate conglomerates, the rural communities it inhabits and the cities it feeds, environmental challenges and the drive for profitability... All these issues are reflected in this program, which highlights how many recent films from Québec and France have looked at the agricultural world, capturing its essential, resilient, and sometimes painful aspects.
Winner of the César Awards for Best First Film & Best Female Revelation in 2025
Winner of the Youth Prize, 2024 Cannes Film Festival
Totone and his band of friends, local barflies, spend most of their summer scouring the Jura dances. Following the sudden death of his cheese-making father, Totone suddenly finds himself responsible for his 7-year-old sister, and must find a way to earn a living. With his friends, he sets out to make the best Comté cheese, one that will win him the gold medal at the agricultural competition and 30,000 euros.
Louise Courvoisier
Louise Courvoisier grew up in the Jura before studying film at the Cinéfabrique in Lyon. Her graduation short film, Mano a Mano, the story of a couple of circus acrobats, was awarded the Cinéfondation prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and was selected in many festivals (Sarajevo, Stockholm, Thessaloniki). Holy Cow, her first feature film, a tale of romance and cheese set in the village where she grew up, was selected in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2024, where it received the Youth Award. It also earned her the Valois de diamant at the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival, as well as the prestigious Prix Jean Vigo.
