Hard Shell, Soft Shell

“The oyster also has heartaches.” So opens this charming love story, where Az, a young French oyster farmer, concocts an elaborate proposal for his girlfriend Jess that goes anything but right. Rejected, he begins to reconsider his and Jess’ ideas of love and happiness.

Az is a handsome twenty-something, Jess a lovely actress. When Az’s proposal goes awry, he tries to win her back by taking dancing lessons from a gorgeous friend whom he begins to fall for, of course! As expected, his pals have all kinds of relationship advice as do the female members of his family who surround him. Writer-director Emma Benestan tinkers gleefully with viewers expectations in this fun feminist update on the romantic dramedy.

Director Biography

Emma Benestan is a French-Algerian director, screenwriter and editor who graduated from La Fémis. She is the director of the short films “Toucher l'horizon” (2012), “Summer of Sarah” (2015), “Taste of Love” (2016), and “L'amour du risque” (2019) and the documentary short “Facing the Beast” (2018). Hard Shell, Soft Shell (Fragile) (2021) is her debut feature.

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