As To Not Be Alone

Directed by Melaine Akoka

Length: 
16:18
Producers: Emmanuel Alphonzair
Editor:

 Melanie Akoka
Cinematographer:

 Tara-Jay Bangalter

In the middle of nowhere, under the burning sun of the South of France, Lola spends her days annoying and pranking her younger brother Nico, who falls for it every time. Their father remains distant, struck by nostalgia. One day, Lola leaves the house alone, equipped with a bottle of wine and a plan, but Nico follows her all the way to the river, only to discover she’s invited a boy. Jealous, Nico tries to keep her attention by any means necessary, struggling to accept a simple and universal fact : you cannot stop someone from growing up. As to not be alone is a story about those who leave, and those who get left behind.

Graduate Film

maa1033@nyu.edu

Mélanie Akoka is a French writer, director and cinematographer of North-African descent, currently based in New Orleans. She studied philosophy at the Sorbonne before working at a post-production and film lab where she developed her passion for film. She recently graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her latest film, Yearlings, premiered at San Sebastian Film Festival. Since she joined NYU, she served as cinematographer on many short films which played at festivals such as Cannes, Sundance, TIFF and SXSW. She won the Nestor Almendros award for best female cinematography and is the recipient of the 2021 Arri Volker Bahnemann award for outstanding cinematography. Melanie recently completed photography on her first feature, Basileia, for award-winning director Isabella Torre.