Ten years ago, the paths of Abou, Laura, Cadiatou and Jacques have crossed Emmanuelle’s. She was their French teacher at a high school in Marseille. Together they took part in a film, Children of the Princess of Cleves, in which, while analyzing the classic text, they expressed their hopes, dreams, and fears. In En Nous, the director re-connects with the protagonists : memories blend with stories of their lives and the daily obstacles they must overcome whilst trying not to lose hope. Now, the sentence of the Princess of Cleves rings poignantly true: “I know nothing can be more difficult than what I undertake”.

In a new town, somewhere in the suburbs of Paris, intimate stories meet the writings of the famous writer Annie Ernaux : is living in harmony a utopia, or could it be actual and overcome the paradoxes of society to welcome foreigners.

Regis Sauder returns to his childhood pavilion at Forbach. Thirty years ago, he fled this city to build against violence and in the shame of his environment. Between demons of extremism and social determinism, how do those who have remained? Together, they weave individual and collective memories to question the future at a time when fear seems stronger than ever.

Featuring candid discussion about hopes and dreams, love and heartbreak, family and friends, this engrossing documentary makes an inspired connection between classic literature and contemporary teen life in modern-day Marseille as one high school class studies the 17th-century novel La princesse de Clèves.