Vacances

A decade of summers at a Provençal villa, where a bohemian countess searches for an heir to her arcane wisdom.

Shot over the course of a decade at a sun-drenched villa in Provence, Vacances follows 'Granny', a bohemian Austro-Hungarian countess, as she imparts wisdom by the pool and looks for a successor among her descendants. Wearing swimsuits, the younger family members navigate her complex world, regressing under her scrutiny and resisting her advice. As summers pass and Granny's influence fades, her heirs reassess her arcane teachings. They start to separate the valuable from the vexing in her legacy, readying themselves to move beyond the villa after the film's final summer.

Director — Victoria Hely-Hutchinson

Victoria Hely-Hutchinson is a director and photographer based in New York and London. She received her MFA from Yale, where she was awarded the Ward Cheney Fellowship. Her photography and films have been exhibited internationally, including at Somerset House for Photo London, The National Portrait Gallery and the UN in Amsterdam for International Women's Day. She has been commissioned by Miu Miu, Stella McCartney, Hunter, Burberry, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, The New Yorker, Apartamento and Vanity Fair. Vacances is her feature documentary debut.