Différente (2025)

Most of the story takes place in Nantes, which is recognizable throughout the film. Katia is a young adult who leads an ordinary life. She gets back together with Fred, her boyfriend, whom she regularly breaks up with; she works as an archivist at a struggling company, where she is friends with her colleague Marie, with whom she boxes. As part of her work, a journalist on her team assigns Katia a new subject: the provision of care for autistic people in France. Katia then has to research the subject and even fill in for her journalist colleague, who has been sent to Somalia on another assignment. Katia is assigned an interview with Romane Vainedeau, an expert on the subject (played by Julie Dachez, who is in a sense playing herself here, as in real life she is an expert and lecturer on autism). Through her research, and then the people she meets at the conference, Katia begins to question her identity. As she faces her partner Fred’s doubts and her mother’s denial, Katia obtains a diagnosis.