Just Before Losing Everything

Just Before Losing Everything (original title Avant que de tout perdre) is a 2013 short film by French film maker Xavier Legrand. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.[1] The film follows the day in the life of a woman who has decided to leave her abusive husband. The story was continued (with the same actors playing the mother, father, and daughter) in Legrand's feature-length follow-up, Custody.

Just Before Losing Everything
Film poster
Directed byXavier Legrand
Produced byXavier Legrand
Alexandre Gavras
Written byXavier Legrand
StarringLéa Drucker
CinematographyNathalie Durand
Edited byYorgos Lamprinos
Release date
  • 23 January 2013 (2013-01-23) (France)
Running time
29 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench

Plot

A small boy (Julien) leaves his house and walks down the street. He runs into his teacher and tells her he is going to pick up cigarettes for his Dad. The teacher reminds him of the teacher conferences tomorrow. The boy walks down the street and goes under a bridge. His mother (Miriam) picks him up. They drive to a bus stop and pick up his crying sister (Josephine).

They drive to Miriam’s work at a Wal-Mart like store. She leaves her kids with a co-worker and speaks with her boss. She informs him that she needs to leave tonight. He asks if she is going to file charges against her husband and Miriam states that there is no time. The boss agrees to fire her so she can receive a severance package.

Before they can leave the store, Miriam’s husband Antoine comes to talk to her. Julien and Josephine cry and beg her not to talk to him. Miriam changes out of her regular clothes to her store uniform revealing cuts and bruises on her body. He asks for the check book, apparently unaware of Miriam’s plan. She gives it to him and walks away.

She and her children leave the store to meet her sister and her sister’s husband. They see Antoine in the parking lot and hide from him behind the other cars. He drives away, and they run across the parking lot to Miriam’s sister’s car.

In the last shot, a car which may or may not be Antoine's turns to follow them.

Cast
Awards
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients and nominees Result
Academy Award[2] 2 March 2014 Best Live Action Short Film Xavier Legrand
Alexandre Gavras		 Nominated
Aix-en-Provence International Short Film Festival Grand Prix Best Short Film Xavier Legrand Nominated
Angers European First Film Festival Audience Award Short Film Won
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival Grand Prix Xavier Legrand Won
Grenoble Short Film Festival Best Screenplay Xavier Legrand (writer) Won
Leeds International Film Festival Prix Louis Le Prince Won
Uppsala International Short Film Festival Honorable Mention Xavier Legrand (director) Won

References
  1. "2014 Oscar Nominations". Oscars.com. 16 January 2013. Archived from the original on 10 January 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  2. "2014 Oscar Nominations". Oscars.com. 16 January 2013. Archived from the original on 10 January 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2014.


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