What are children’s strategies to cope with contemporary violence ? Mixing nocturnal fantasies with investigation on societal phenomena, Léa Drouet and Camille Louis put themselves in a child’s shoes through a precise and sensitive direction. 

In Belgium, teenagers are molested in their cells for protesting. In France, other teenagers from 10 to 14 get arrested at their home for glorifying terrorism. Beyond media coverage of these famous and less famous cases, J’ai une épée presents a different vision of childhood, the worlds it gives birth to, and the sense of self-defense it implements through them. In a cozy setting made with fabric where every detail is important, testimonies of special needs workers meet the horror stories the director’s daughter is telling herself. Here, no victim to protect, no “young hero” to celebrate, but true subjects, told with moral and intelligence.