An amateur runner faces a new goal and the weight of other people's times: Performance explores the relationship between sport and self-image.
Director
Arnaud Vieron
Country
France
Running time
00:03:28
27 September 2026 · Ciro Sorrentino, Co-Director
A new target can change the way someone experiences an activity they love. Performance, a short French documentary directed by Arnaud Vieron, follows Hugo, an amateur runner who sets himself a personal challenge. The submission synopsis presents his running as a search for reassurance, while raising a wider question: what happens when the value of an experience is measured mainly by its result? The film has been submitted to the International Sport Film Festival 2026; this presentation does not anticipate any selection or programming decision.
Running is the physical centre of the story. Hugo moves through urban spaces and a track, while timing and comparison with others enter the way he sees himself. The images follow his moving body and the places where he trains. His personal journey emerges through his voice in French, accompanied by Italian subtitles in the submitted version.
In three minutes and twenty-eight seconds, the documentary focuses on an experience familiar to many people who practise sport: setting a goal and discovering how much weight it can carry. The submission credits Arnaud Vieron as director and, with Clara Latmer, as writer. The promotional poster acquired from the submission bears the title Performance. Sport is more than a backdrop for a general message: it is the concrete practice through which Hugo encounters expectations, effort and his perception of himself.
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