Just an Illusion

A true story of two men who should never have met – a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.

Paris, autumn 2015. In Philippe Dayan's analysis office, a surgeon in disarray in love, a couple in crisis, a suicidal teenager follow one another day after day. On a November evening, killers enter Paris.

A bold and heartfelt interview series where autistic and neurodivergent hosts take the lead, asking the questions everyone else avoids. With honesty, curiosity, and zero filters, no topic is off-limits, resulting in raw, funny, and deeply human conversations that challenge assumptions and redefine how stories are told.

For twenty years, Bruno and Malik have lived in a different world—the world of autistic children and teens. In charge of two separate nonprofit organizations (The Hatch & The Shelter), they train young people from underprivileged areas to be caregivers for extreme cases that have been refused by all other institutions. It’s an exceptional partnership, outside of traditional settings, for some quite extraordinary characters.

Zoe and Volta, childhood friends from a remote village, move to Pristina to pursue their studies. Full of dreams and youthful idealism, they befriend a group of rebellious, anti-establishment activists determined to make their voices heard. Amidst the social and political tensions of Kosovo in 2007, on the brink of independence, they navigate a country in turmoil—one searching for its identity while its youth remain overlooked.

Set in 1992, a manager Vincent has to run a children's holiday camp for three weeks and to face the unexpected concerning the place, his colleagues, various problems linked to children about the rooms, trips, their belongings...

Felipe a wealthy businessman who has been quadriplegic, due to an accident, is looking for a therapeutic assistant. There are several highly qualified, but he decides to take the assistant of his gardener, Tito who has decided to resign.

Impressed by his carefree attitude, quadriplegic multi-billionaire Vikram hires a convict out on parole as his caretaker. What follows is a string of life lessons they learn from each other.

Phillip is a wealthy quadriplegic who needs a caretaker to help him with his day-to-day routine in his New York penthouse. He decides to hire Dell, a struggling parolee who's trying to reconnect with his ex and his young son. Despite coming from two different worlds, an unlikely friendship starts to blossom.

Max is a battle-weary veteran of the wedding-planning racket. His latest — and last — gig is a hell of a fête, involving stuffy period costumes for the caterers, a vain, hyper- sensitive singer who thinks he's a Gallic James Brown, and a morose, micromanaging groom determined to make Max's night as miserable as possible. But what makes the affair too bitter to endure is that Max's colleague and ostensible girlfriend, Joisette, seems to have written him off, coolly going about her professional duties while openly flirting with a much younger server. It's going to be a very long night… especially once the groom's aerial serenade gets underway.

Since September 2022, "Les Rencontres du Papotin" has garnered significant attention, shining a spotlight on the work undertaken by its unique team of journalists—who have autism spectrum disorders—following more than 30 years with the publication *Le Papotin*. From editorial meetings to behind-the-scenes footage, this film offers a close-up look at the daily lives of this extraordinary editorial team. Featuring previously unseen archival footage, the documentary chronicles the initial encounters between the journalists and various prominent figures.

In each episode, one of the Nation’s most popular celebrities (actor/actress, singer, TV host, athlete) faces a group of 30 atypical journalists, all with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). All have very different personalities, but one thing in common: a disarming naturalness that is full of truth! Through surprising, unpredictable, sometimes funny or poignant questions, viewers discover celebrities as they have never seen them before! In these questions: no calculations, no traps, but also no taboos and no filters. Faced with these very special interviewers, the guests naturally drop the masks and each meeting becomes a magical moment, out of time, filled with emotion, laughter, poetry and impertinence. The show is also nourished by various artistic sequences (music, poetry, drawing…) delivered by journalists endowed with an unsuspected talent.

A wealthy man, paralysed after an accident, hires a caregiver from a completely different background. The unlikely relationship between these two opposite characters soon transforms into an extraordinary and powerful friendship that changes both of their lives.

The film follows children growing up in the projects, where they juggle the pressures of school and street life.