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La belle année, dir. Angelica Ruffier, 2026, Norway/Sweden, 95 min.,
in French, Swedish, and English, with English subtitles throughout
Monday, June 22, 2026, 6:00 PM, New Parkway, Oakland
🌎 North American premiere
screens with two shorts by Aarin Burch (not reviewed):
- ❓ Dreams of Passion, dir. Aarin Burch, 1989, USA, 5 min.
- ❓ Spin Cycle, dir. Aarin Burch, 1991, USA, 5 min.
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| La belle année |
Frameline blurb: When Angelica Ruffier and her brother return to their childhood home after the death of their estranged father, they find the house overflowing with clutter and detritus. As they start to clear it out and settle his affairs, Angelica rediscovers the diaries she kept as a teenager and, in them, her one-sided and all-consuming infatuation with her history teacher, Mademoiselle B.
Re-examining her young love through the lens of her father’s death, Ruffier explores the extent to which the narratives she concocted about Mademoiselle B. were a reflection of her own need for escape from her abusive home life and her unexpressed queerness. Surrounded by the seemingly-endless array of her father’s belongings — all of which combine to create a spectral reminder of herself when she was small, as well as her re-animated memory — the past becomes present once more, and Ruffier starts to long to find Mademoiselle B.
A sensuous meditation on desire, young love, and the fantasies we project upon those who help us see a path forward, La belle année stunningly blurs the lines of documentary and narrative, and will leave you in tears for those who helped you reimagine how you could be.
My take: La belle année is really more of a memoir than a documentary, following the filmmaker as she combs through mementos of her childhood in the process of clearing out her father’s home after his death. It was a bit slow-moving for me, and didn’t feel like it shed much light beyond its immediate subjects. Not bad if you want a stroll down someone else’s memory lane, but the best I can say is recommended.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other • La belle annee, Morieres •
(These two newly restored short films were screened with La belle année, but were not available for review. Information about them is included for completeness.)
❓ Dreams of Passion, dir. Aarin Burch, 1989, USA, 5 min.
Frameline blurb: Widely recognized for featuring one of the earliest known onscreen kisses between two Black women, Dreams of Passion is an exploration of desire set in a dance studio that marked a critical moment from Bay Area filmmaker Aarin Burch — presented in a new 4K restoration. Featuring contemporary dancers Matima Hadi and Debra Floyd as well as original music by multi-instrumentalist Vicki Randle, it challenged norms of representation in experimental film and opened doors for queer Black visibility in cinema.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •
❓ Spin Cycle, dir. Aarin Burch, 1991, USA, 5 min.
Frameline blurb: This autobiographical short by Bay Area filmmaker Aarin Burch revolves around a young filmmaker’s reflections on race, love, self-representation, and the tension of being seen. Ahead of its time in its intimacy and raw vulnerability, the film explores how identity and creative voice can intersect and conflict, and captures Aarin’s fears and aspirations as both lover and artist. Newly restored in 4K, Spin Cycle has become a touchstone for generations of viewers, as it invites anyone watching to reflect on their own inner landscape.
• IMDb: Burch • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •
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