Stefan Le Lay
Stefan Le Lay is a screenwriter and director. He has written and directed five short films, which have won 90 awards worldwide. Since 2004, he has directed 40 fiction pieces for various TV channels (France 3, Canal+, OCS) and written 30 scripts for the Canal+ show ÇA CARTOON.
His first feature film project, LE GARDIEN, was selected for the 2014 Groupe Ouest Annual Selection and LA SÉLECTION – Talents 2015. His second project, SURVIE, was selected for LIM | Less is More 2018, where he teamed up with co-writer Blandine Jet.
Le Gardien
Sélection Annuelle 2014, La Sélection 2015
Étienne is a lighthouse keeper living in the open sea who refuses to leave his post. He lives with his wife Isabelle and their 17-year-old twin children, Vincent and Alice. Despite the isolation, the family appear to live in harmony… Except that Isabelle and the children don’t exist. Figments of Étienne’s imagination, he has created them in order to live as “normally” as possible. He has vowed never to interfere in their lives and to let them act of free will. But one day, this ideal life is disrupted by the arrival of Gaël, a young trainee keeper who finds himself stranded at the lighthouse. Alice, the daughter, discovers there are men in the world besides her father and brother and she falls in love with Gaël. Even though she knows this love is impossible, she cannot accept the idea she will never be loved by anyone. Meanwhile, Gaël, naturally curious, begins to investigate the lighthouse’s secrets, trying to piece together the strange puzzle Étienne has passionately constructed in his mind. As Gaël gradually begins to feel the presence of the young girl, Étienne realizes that the arrival of the young man poses a deadly threat to the delicate balance of his dream life.
Worked with
Survie (Survival)
LIM | Less is More 2018
The sea, summer.
Caroline, 35 years old, unenthusiastically embarks on a boat to go sailing with Guillaume her husband and Hugo their 10 year old son. she hates sailing but once again, docile, she gives in to the will of her charismatic and manipulative husband.
At sea, in the middle of the night, the boat is seriously damaged and Guillaume badly injured. Caroline has to overcome her panic, evacuate her husband and child on a survival raft.
Her family’s destiny is now in her hands. Drifting for days and nights on end, Caroline struggles to keep her injured husband and scared and dehydrated child alive. Against all odds, she affronts the situation with the bravery she didn’t know she had. As she gains her son’s trust Caroline grows stronger and her attitude towards her husband changes.
She knows now that there is no turning back – whatever the price.