Les Papas – Films – Visions du Réel

Dads

David Maye
Switzerland | 2025 | 73 min
World premiere
Languages : French, English
Subtitles : English, French

Christophe, Luca, Julien and Gaëtan are four young men discovering their fatherhood. Les Papas journeys into their private lives, interspersed with scenes from everyday life, using a discreet and sensitive approach to shed light on the place that these young fathers must claim in society, and in so doing questioning the role of men in the contemporary family unit.

What is fatherhood? How is it experienced, embodied? The film’s title sets the tone: fatherhood is plural, unique to each man, and constantly in the process of being redefined. Les Papas explores this multiplicity with great sensitivity, through a finely tuned choral structure. One by one, we meet Christophe, Gaëtan, Julien, and Luca: fathers, or fathers-to-be. Filmmaker David Maye engages them directly, with a rare emotional intelligence. He creates a space where words—often elusive when emotions run high and social conventions weigh heavy—can finally take shape. Taboos fall, gently but surely. How does one dismantle the expectations a father may project onto his son? How does one become a father in the absence of their own? How do two men raise a daughter in a same-sex household?
While fathers and their journeys take center stage, the film also gives voice to maternal figures through subtle yet essential touches. They offer a counterpoint, a presence of support and reflection, becoming a lens through which we witness the transformation of their partners or sons in the profound upheaval that is becoming a father.
Dimitri de Preux

Les Papas, 2025
Les Grandes Traversées, 2017
Sortie de route, 2013