Loic Oliviera

A frigid night blankets a neighborhood skating rink. Théo, 14, skates alone in endless circles, as if trying to escape something that haunts him. Then, a presence emerges. His father. Words are exchanged, glances meet. But beneath the surface, what unfolds goes far beyond appearances: regrets, silences, a need for answers. Not far off, Gabriel, his friend, watches the scene alongside his grandfather Paul — a silent witness to a moment that feels larger than life. Face-Off is an intimate drama brought to life through a minimalist and restrained direction, where the ice becomes a mental space — a place of inner confrontation. Through this open-air chamber piece, the film explores isolation, and the visceral need to speak what was never said. Hovering between realism and disquiet, Face-Off intentionally keeps the viewer in a hazy in-between — where emotion takes over reason, and absence becomes almost tangible.

After his father faces financial struggles, 12-year-old Max is forced to shut down the pawn shop he operates from his garage and move to a small country town. When Max discovers the world of small-scale farming, the young entrepreneur rallies the help of his cousin Charles, along with local youtuber Alice, to start an egg farming business in Charles's old decaying barn.