Half of the World

A personal inquiry into motherhood, absence and identity

One day, filmmaker Nathalie Marcault comes across a sentence by Marguerite Duras that unsettles her deeply. Duras writes that not having children is like ignoring half of the world. At 45, the age limit she had set for herself to become a mother, Marcault realises she has never truly chosen whether to have a child. Her indecision has quietly become a decision, and the possibility is now gone. The question lingers: has she missed half of the world?

Hals of the World emerges from this intimate crisis. Initially, Marcault begins filming two pregnant friends, imagining that through the camera she might experience motherhood by proxy. What starts as a personal gesture gradually evolves into a documentary film shaped over fifteen years, weaving together archives, staged sequences, spontaneous conversations and reflections recorded across different periods of her life.

The film moves between humour and melancholy, embracing self irony while avoiding pathos. Marcault constructs a documentary dramaturgy with writer Emmanuelle Mougne, and later shapes the material in collaboration with editor Marie Pomme Carteret. Central to the narrative is her relationship with her mother, whose presence brings both tension and tenderness, transforming the film into an exploration of the mother daughter bond.

Through hybrid forms and a sincere investigative spirit, Hals of the World gently dismantles social injunctions surrounding femininity, maternity and fulfilment, inviting viewers to project their own stories and uncertainties onto the screen.