Des nouvelles de la planète Mars

The everyday madness begins with a severed ear. Philippe Mars lives in organized chaos: between his job as an IT specialist, looking after his two children, and occasional hallucinations of his deceased parents, he tries not to lose his mind. His daughter pursues her ambitions with military precision, his son becomes a militant vegan overnight. And then his mentally unstable ex-colleague Jérôme moves in with him – fresh out of a psychiatric ward, determined to improve the world, and accompanied by the mysterious Chloé. What follows is an absurd journey through a reality that seems increasingly fragile. Philippe becomes the silent center of an anarchic microcosm where reason and madness lie close together. Between nightly debates, terrorist conspiracy theories, and escalating family tensions, he slowly but surely loses control—and gains a new perspective on what really matters in life. NEWS FROM PLANET MARS (original title: DES NOUVELLES DE LA PLANÈTE MARS) is a darkly humorous social satire that elegantly interweaves existential overload with surreal comedy. Director Dominik Moll stages the film with a keen sense of absurdity and human weakness. François Damiens is convincing in the lead role with his laconic humor, supported by Vincent Macaigne, who portrays Jérôme as walking madness. The film was shown at the Berlinale (Panorama) in 2016 and at the Brussels International Film Festival, among others.