Plot

Madenn, a young developmentally disabled woman, visits her cousin in Paris after a breakup. This film lets her speak for herself, freely and unreservedly, exploring her dynamic personality filled with dark tendencies and exuberance.

"Cousin Madenn" is a documentary film which allows a young developmentally disabled woman to speak freely. This film combats indifference by emotion. Madenn has several obsessions: Nicolas, her boyfriend who she loves above all else and who she wants to spend the rest of her life with, Selena Gomez, the young American singer whom she worships, Anne Franck, who gave her the idea of keeping a diary, and text messages, which she has sent everyday to Grégoire for over 10 years! Madenn and Grégoire are cousins. They were born 2 weeks apart in the same hospital 25 years ago. She suffers from a mild mental deficiency. He is her closest friend. As Madenn had a profound need to communicate and an extremely endearing personality, Grégoire has given her an opportunity to put herself in the spotlight, in all her character and complexity. Together, they want to change the way others see the mentally disabled, who are often misunderstood, looked down upon, or worse, ignored. The film recounts Madenn's arrival at her cousin's home in Paris, following a romantic break-up. Their conversations are captured in visits around the capital and through decisive encounters. "Cousin Madenn" is a film about a contemporary young woman who is in-love, realistic, sensitive, funny and uncontrollable, whose personality does not correspond with the clichéd ideas of having a mental disability.—Gregoire Thoby