When you're small you need to think big

Writer/director Julien Rappeneaus follow-up to his 2016 debut hit Rosalie Blum, OF LOVE AND LIES is an uplifting story about the power of a childs love, and the lengths that one boy will go to to help get his fathers life back on track. Irrepressible 12-year old Tho (star-in-the-making Maleaume Paquin) is nicknamed Fourmi Ant due to his diminutive stature. He wants nothing more than to offer hope to his disillusioned father, Laurent (the wonderful Franois Damiens), a loving but lonely man struggling to deal with both retrenchment and separation from Thos mother Chlo (Ludivine Sagnier). An opportunity comes when Tho is invited to try out for the youth training programme of English football club Arsenal. Despite showing obvious talent, hes rejected for being too small, but doesnt have the heart to impose yet another disappointment on his father. So Tho impulsively articulates a well-meaning fiction one that quickly spirals and overtakes not just his life, but all those around him. As with Rosalie Blum, Rappeneau demonstrates skill at bringing empathy, humour and charm to the lives of ordinary people with this rousing and heartfelt story. Its timeless message of determination and community will speak to viewers of any age or size.