‘Summer Drift’ Premieres at ACID Cannes
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- 'Summer Drift' premieres at ACID Cannes on May 16, blending documentary and autofiction to follow Johanna Schopfer, a trans watch factory worker in Geneva, as she restores a vintage VW Beetle over four summers.
- Céline Carridroit and Aline Suter directed the film using 16mm, a choice driven by political intent to place a trans woman within a cinematic aesthetic historically devoid of such representation, while also reflecting Switzerland’s visually conservative, time-frozen character.
- Johanna Schopfer’s restoration of the Beetle becomes a narrative metaphor for her transition—she hid women’s clothes in the car, and its transformation mirrors her own—while also symbolizing reclamation of spaces from which she was excluded after transitioning.
- Geneva is portrayed as a layered city far from its polished image, showcasing working-class garages, queer friendships, and riverfront gatherings, with the filmmakers consciously archiving parts of the city disappearing due to rapid ecological redevelopment.
- The friendship between Johanna, Rocco, and Leticia forms an emotional core of the film, emphasizing joy, affection, and community over struggle, culminating in a final raft scene that celebrates their bond.
Why it matters: The film shifts focus from trans trauma to self-determined joy and reclamation, using form and setting to challenge both cinematic norms and Geneva’s elite image. For trans audiences and working-class communities, it offers rare visibility not as subjects of crisis but as creators of meaning and beauty in everyday life.
