Franck and Meriem, a Roma couple living on the outskirts of Paris, are struggling to provide for their five children. When Meriem becomes pregnant again, financial hardship turns into existential pressure. At the same time, Julien and Anna — a well-off lawyer couple unable to conceive — are facing the painful limits of their desire to have a child. An unexpected encounter brings the two families together. What begins as a seemingly practical arrangement gradually develops into a morally complex and emotionally charged situation. Between desperation and hope, legality and compassion, each decision tightens the knot binding their lives together. In his feature debut, Léopold Legrand crafts a tense and empathetic drama about parenthood, social inequality and the fragile boundary between solidarity and transgression. Refusing easy judgment, THE SIXTH CHILD explores how far people are willing to go when love and survival collide. THE SIXTH CHILD (Le Sixième Enfant) premiered at the 2022 Festival du Film Francophone d’Angoulême, where it won the Valois de diamant (Best Film Award). The film later received the Lumière Award for Best First Film (2023) and earned a César nomination for Best First Film.
Keywords
- Cine-Short: 90 Minutes of cinema
- Les César du cinéma
- Motherhood
- parenthood
Actors
- Sara Giraudeau
- Benjamin Lavernhe
- Judith Chemla
- Damien Bonnard
- Olivier Faliez
Director
- Léopold Legrand
A couple with serious financial problems are expecting their sixth child. They are helped by Julien and Anna, who are unable to have children.
Franck and Meriem, a Roma couple living on the outskirts of Paris, are struggling to provide for their five children. When Meriem becomes pregnant again, financial hardship turns into existential pressure. At the same time, Julien and Anna — a well-off lawyer couple unable to conceive — are facing the painful limits of their desire to have a child.
An unexpected encounter brings the two families together. What begins as a seemingly practical arrangement gradually develops into a morally complex and emotionally charged situation. Between desperation and hope, legality and compassion, each decision tightens the knot binding their lives together.
In his feature debut, Léopold Legrand crafts a tense and empathetic drama about parenthood, social inequality and the fragile boundary between solidarity and transgression. Refusing easy judgment, THE SIXTH CHILD explores how far people are willing to go when love and survival collide.
THE SIXTH CHILD (Le Sixième Enfant) premiered at the 2022 Festival du Film Francophone d’Angoulême, where it won the Valois de diamant (Best Film Award). The film later received the Lumière Award for Best First Film (2023) and earned a César nomination for Best First Film.
Festivals
Cast & Crew
Director
Léopold Legrand
Cast
Sara Giraudeau
Cast
Benjamin Lavernhe
Cast
Judith Chemla
Cast
Damien Bonnard
Cast
Olivier Faliez