Managing Editor Elijah Knodell attended a screening of Jasmine Bissete’s (CC ’19) short film Anges hosted by Columbia’s Maison Française. Bissete was joined in conversation by Professor Roxanne Varzi of UC Irvine.

“My goal is to show the French language as a bridge between different cultures,” said Jasmine Bissete (CC ’19) to the audience at the Maison Française who gathered for a special screening of her short film Anges (Angels) Thursday evening.

Anges speaks to this bridge, showing the French language’s transcultural potential by taking the viewer on a six-minute trip to Tehran in 1968, where a group of Iranian Girl Scouts are busy making preparations for a visit from French President Georges Pompidou.

Bissete imbues these short six minutes with rich imagery, and though it offers just a glimpse into this world, Anges insists on the ability of its protagonist, young Niloufar, to forge her own path. The Lycée Razi, the French elementary in Tehran where the film is set, is shown to be a place of great potential. 

According to Bissete, the “main character” of Anges is actually the French language itself, shown as a vehicle to create your own identity, to find your own voice. We see Niloufar and her friends tackling La Princesse de Clèves, an intimidating classic work of French literature. Yet they remain unfazed, taking the challenge in stride.

The inclusion of La Princesse de Clèves was very intentional for Bissete, who said reading the novel at a young age was a pivotal moment in her own life. The allusion also invokes a 2006 controversy when Nikolas Sarkozy, who would later become the French President, complained about the inclusion of questions about the novel on civil service entrance exams. Sarkozy continued to denigrate the novel over the following years, paradoxically creating a renewed passion for the text and increasing its readership.

But while Anges speaks to broad concerns of cross-cultural exchange, French-Iranian relations, and the politicization of French language and literature, it is also a deeply personal, intimate work. It is Bissete’s directorial debut, and one can sense its palpable urgency, inspired by stories from Bissete’s mother’s childhood.

After graduating from Columbia in 2019, Bissete returned home to ride out the pandemic. It was then that her mother shared stories of her childhood as a Girl Scout in Iran, and from these stories, Anges was born.

The film is a personal endeavor for Bissete on another level, being brought to life with the help of friends she made during her time at Columbia. It was produced by Joshua Chun (CC ’21) and Maya Hartleben (BC ’19), and it was edited by Shawn Anand (CC ’21). Bissete graduated magna cum laude in 2019 with a degree in French and Francophone Studies. After graduating, she co-founded Kinglet Films, a production company operating in New York and Paris. 

Bissete basked in the film’s positive reception, which has been shown in festivals around the world, including the Children’s International Film Festival of Wales, where Bissete took home the Best Director Prize. Anges will continue to be shown at several festivals in the coming year.

Film still via Maison Française