Malony is verbally and physically abusive, he fights the authorities, ends up in a juvenile court for the first time aged six, and at thirteen steels his first car. A tough case for the French juvenile justice system. From an early age, Malony does not fit in. His young mother is incapable of controlling him or setting a good example. She leaves the task of guiding him in the right direction to a kind of adoptive state family: Florence, an almost retired youth court judge, and social worker Yann, who is from a difficult background himself, accompany the teenager and eventually send him to a juvenile detention centre. There, he meets and falls in love with Tess. When he becomes a father himself, he tries to put his criminal career behind him.

Bercot‘s socially realistic coming-of-age drama tells the story of a child who is neglected by his family and goes off the rails. Faced with the responsibility of raising and loving a child of his own, Malony is reformed. Bercot‘s camera follows her protagonists closely. With an outstanding cast of actors, who achieve a true tour de force performance, she pays tribute to all those people who take care of child offenders: youth court judges, teachers, lawyers, social workers. The youth court judge is played by Catherine Deneuve with maternal authority. Standing Tall opened Cannes Film Festival in 2015.

Awards for Standing Tall
Best Supporting Actor & Most Promising Actor – César 2015