Miss Chazelles

A pageant contest. The expected rivalry between girls. Tension between relatives. And ambiguity of a form of friendship , sort of solidarity. Nice story, good acting and fair portrait of the atmosphere of small French town.

Greetings again from the darkness. Sometimes the line between rival and friend is not drawn by the participants. Such is the case with Clara and Marie in this community in France. This 21 minute short film comes courtesy of writer-director Thomas Vernay, and reminds us that people are often more similar than different.

Clara (Megan Northam) has just been named as runner-up to Marie (Alice Mazodier) for the Chazelles-sur-Lyon pageant. Clara's friends and family immediately begin a social media assault against Marie, while Marie's family gloats over the victory. Tensions rise between all involved ... well except for the girls themselves, who pay little mind.

A simple moment causes a dynamic shift in the relationship between the girls, but the families from either side are not having it. It's a lesson that pre-dates Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", and often has nothing to do with love - just common (or maybe not so common) human courtesy.