29/01/2025 - Olivier Meys paints the portrait of one adolescent’s suspended summer spent in a centre for asylum seekers

Belgian filmmaker Olivier Meys’ new movie, Jahia’s Summer, has world-premiered at the Göteborg Film Festival. Meys first made his name with his short films, which spanned both documentary and fiction, before distinguishing himself with his debut feature film, Bitter Flowers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Olivier Meys
film profile], which paints a staggering portrait of a young Chinese mother who takes exile in France in the hope of a better life, and who makes radical choices to avoid giving up on her dream.

In this new film, Meys once again homes in on stymied hopes for a better life. Jahia (Noura Bance) comes from Sub-Saharan Africa, and she lives in a centre for asylum seekers with her mother. We follow her in her day-to-day reality: a kind of limbo, a life on hold. Jahia’s time is spent waiting for the only thing that can pave the way towards the life she desires: refugee status. But how can you spend your life waiting when you’re a teenager, when the only thing that matters is the present, the here and now? Jahia is extinguished, trapped in a torpor of feelings and emotions. But when radiant Mila (Sofiia Malovatska) turns up in the centre, Jahia is bowled over. Self-willed and mischievous, Mila preaches hope. “You’re dreaming,” Jahia replies, when she tells her she should become a cook. “That’s what you need, you have to dream,” Mila retorts. And so it happens that, little by little, Jahia lets go, invests herself in what really excites her and opens herself up to, and even absorbs, Mila’s joy. It’s a kind of honeymoon between friends playing out at the height of summer, amidst trips to the lake and TikTok dances. But their carefree attitude is also a profession of faith, and this faith hangs by a thread, namely a decision which will change everything: obtaining or not obtaining asylum.

Through this sensitive portrayal, taking us up close and personal to Jahia’s emotions – we’re either looking at her or we see what she’s looking at – Olivier Meys allows us to experience a turning point in a hitherto restrained life. Jahia’s life changes course when she meets Mila. A young woman rebelling against a destiny she hasn’t chosen for herself, Mila digs deep inside of herself to find the means necessary to take control of her future. She doesn’t know where she’s going, but she realises she can definitely choose how she gets there. It’s a kind of double revolution: one that’s forced upon her and another which she initiates. It’s a story about friendship too, and the way friendships can change our trajectories. Thanks to Mila, Jahia learns to dream. And in order to depict these two young women at the turning point of a decisive summer, Olivier Meys has turned to two young, first-time actresses who have experienced issues similar to those explored in the film. Ultimately, it’s a winning choice, with Noura Bance and Sofiia Malovatska smoothly espousing their characters’ trajectories.

Jahia’s Summer was produced by Michigan Films in Belgium, in co-production with Kidam Production in France and Red Lion in Luxembourg.

(Translated from French)