The film by Clémence Madeline-Perdrillat and Nathaniel H'Limi, La vie de château. Mon enfance à Versailles, offers a sensitive entry into the issue of terrorism through the eyes of Violette, orphan of her two parents, killed at the Bataclan, during the attacks of November 13, 2015. It began as a short film that won more than twenty-five awards, including the Jury Prize for a TV special at Annecy in 2019, before being transposed into a comic book (6 Tomes, 2021-2024). The film La vie de château. My childhood at Versailles is a long version (1h21 minutes) released on October 15, 2025.
"Adult problems often become children's problems", worries young Violette: indeed, aimed at a young audience (7 years and up), this animated film deals with post-attack society, but from a child's point of view. Taken in by her uncle, a janitor and handyman at the Château de Versailles, Violette goes through various stages of her mourning, from the funeral at the Père-Lachaise cemetery to the status of "ward of the nation" conferred on the children of victims of terrorism, via the inability of relatives to understand the traumas experienced by these orphans, and the fate of her parents' apartment. Supported by a plot centered on the idea of individual and collective reconstruction (via school and dance), La vie de château. Mon enfance à Versailles dissects the complex emotions experienced by Violette and the difficult work of empathy that runs through French society after November 13. Accompanied by numerous more jovial scenes, revolving around the uncle, friends, love and the Palace of Versailles, the film is a useful classroom teaching aid for tackling the traumatic events of terrorist attacks.
The production team offers an educational dossier and various useful resources for teachers.
Teaser trailer: Trailer LA VIE DE CHÂTEAU, MON ENFANCE À VERSAILLES
