La Mif
Raw and candid drama about seven teenage girls who live together in a care home. They share joys and sorrows and rebel passionately against the shortcomings in their lives.
The people living in the relatively safe bubble of the shelter form the seven girls’ surrogate family – ‘la mif’ is slang for ‘the family’. But even there, tensions and problems prevail, testifying to the fragility of social structures and what it actually means to be part of a family.
In this mosaic film, each of the key scenes is told from the perspective of a different character, revealing the truth step by step. Former social worker Baillif brings to light how imperfect the youth protection system actually is. His in-depth knowledge of the system is reinforced by using non-professional actors with experience in youth care. This makes the events look authentic and gives the film a documentary character. LA MIF won the Grand Prize for Best Film in the 14plus section of Generation, a competition programme of the Berlin Film Festival devoted to films about the lives and worlds of children and teenagers.