Alicia, a 32-year-old advertiser, is going through strange moments: she remembers moments in her life… that she is sure she never experienced, between waking dreams and a feeling of deja vu. Determined to understand what is happening to her, she begins an investigation, which leads her to consult a hypnotherapist and a specialist in the “Mandela effect” – those memories shared by several people (sometimes thousands) and yet which are not real. .
This phenomenon owes its name to the fact that many believed that Nelson Mandela died in custody when, released from prison in 1990 and President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, he died in 2013. But when his death was announced, many people were surprised, some even thinking they remembered his funeral…
Alicia is haunted by the memories of a man whose face she cannot make out and yet whom she has the feeling of knowing well. The hunt for this ghost will lead her to discover the secrets of her family and return to the listener this question: what really depends on our choices in our trajectories?
A keen sense of rhythm
This pretty fiction subtly brings together all the codes of the thriller – spinning, chase, infiltration, crime… – to dive into science fiction and the essential theme of time travel. With the pleasure specific to this genre, that of exploring the fascinating knowledge of the concept of time, the multiverse or the functioning of the human brain, to develop a breathtaking plot whose listener tries as much to pierce the outcome (which will be abrupt) than to identify potential temporal paradoxes, which will be so many screenplay flaws.
As in his previous audio fiction, Poisoned, for which he had diverted the codes of the conversation podcast, Charly Lemega this time uses those of the documentary podcast, in the first person, to lead the narration and alter the border between fiction and reality. . “Formal research is very important to me because I find this format exciting and it engages the listener,” says the writer-director, who has also dabbled in novels, short films, music videos and is one of the editors of the Skam series, on France.tv Slash.
Produced in two years, this fiction is carried by a keen sense of rhythm, rich sound work and an original soundtrack specially composed by Alexandre Didi. And we can add a successful interpretation, in particular of the actress Justine Viotty, who embodies Alicia, the main character, to this beautiful independent production.
