It could just be lack of exposure (or adventure) on my part, but I’ve become accustomed to (and almost expect), films set in modern day France and featuring black people, to be about immigration, social marginalisation, disaffected black youth… all of which tend to serve up images of grit, grime, poverty… So Jean-Paul Civeyrac’s "My Friend Victoria," was something of a surprise.
Set in Paris, the film is based on a Doris Lessing story, "Victoria and the Staveneys," and tells the story of Victoria, a young black woman of no remarkable talent, drive or ambition. The story is narrated by Fanny (Nadia Moussa), Victoria’s literature devouring adopted sister and friend,…
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