Une vie inattendue

***Une vie inattendue*** (Ditrovian: *An unexpected life*) is a 2024 Maronan drama film directed by Nathalie Farquette, and written by Farquette and Laëtitia Perelle. The film stars Carmen Diaz-Susungi as the first biracial woman from metropolitan Marone to win the Miss Marone pageant, and is inspired by Perelle's life.

## Plot summary

In 1998 Viersbourg, Emmanuelle Okapi (Carmen Diaz-Susungi) is a young half-Talmoonian woman who works at a laboratory as a chemist. In her daily life, she is the frequent victim of various micro-aggressions, from coworkers criticizing her hair texture, to acquaintances underestimating her intelligence and educational background, to strangers assuming her to be an immigrant or criminal. One day, while shopping at a local mall with her conventionally beautiful friend Valérie (Ludovine Franco), a recruiter for the Miss Ambas pageant approaches them. While they initially believe she is interested in the pretty and blonde Valérie, she confirms that she is actually interested in Emmanuelle, as she does not believe Valérie is tall enough to compete, and encourages her to attend a casting being held in the city the following weekend.

Emmanuelle is initially unsure of whether to attend the casting, as she had never been interested in the pageant industry before and is unsure of whether she could balance the preparation with her work. After informing her parents about the opportunity, her eccentric mother is supportive while her traditional father believes that pageants are frivolous and inappropriate, and that she should not compete. Emmanuelle later reluctantly attends the casting with her mother. Although initially still uncertain of whether she wanted to pursue this, she becomes determined to succeed after the casting's receptionist requires proof of her Maronan nationality, despite having been born in Viersbourg, and she overhears the casting's hairstylist complaining that her hair type is unsuitable for a beauty queen. Emmanuelle's interview with the selection panel begins rockily when she admits that she had never watched Miss Marone before and could not name a single former winner who inspires her, but she later impresses them with a heartfelt story about how she wishes to become an inspiration for young girls who look like her, and she is selected as an official contestant. With the Miss Ambas 1998 pageant in two months, Emmanuelle begins preparing with her family and friends, and drastically changes her personal appearance and confidence in her daily life, shocking her coworkers. At the pageant, Emmanuelle emerges as one of the audience's favorites, along with the beautiful blonde Anne-Marie (Jeanne-Laure Houdin); while Anne-Marie is friendly to Emmanuelle, Emmanuelle becomes conflicted after one of Anne-Marie's relatives yells a racist comment towards her during the pageant and Emmanuelle notices Anne-Marie laughing under her breath. She later meets the reigning Miss Marone (Gisèle Rindelknecht) in a bathroom backstage, who gives her the confidence to return to the pageant. After returning to the stage, Emmanuelle is declared the winner of the pageant, with Anne-Marie as her first runner-up.

Now a regional titleholder for the upcoming Miss Marone 1999 pageant, Emmanuelle takes a leave from her job to prepare, which includes copious amounts of workout sessions, photoshoots, runway classes, interview classes, and events throughout the region. Emmanuelle's continued focus on pageant preparation causes friction between her and her father, who believes she is throwing away her future for a dream that will never come true, as Marone was not ready to elect a biracial woman with a Tarfican father as Miss Marone. Emmanuelle eventually leaves her family and friends in Viersbourg to travel to Delmas for the pageant, where she meets the other 29 contestants and the pageant's strict president Madame Leblanc (Amalie Le Grouic). Upon her arrival, she struggles to fit in with the contestants from metropolitan Marone, but is also rebuffed by the black contestants from overseas Marone, who view her as a threat to their success in the pageant and a whitewashed version of a black woman. The contestants later travel with the Miss Marone production to Tahare, the location of their overseas trip. In Tahare, Emmanuelle befriends the laidback Miss Picarie, Joëlle (Margot Starczewski), who only signed up to compete at the wishes of her mother, and Miss Carandie, Valentine (Emma Cocquet), Emmanuelle's roommate who suffers from severe anxiety and had dreamed of becoming Miss Marone since her childhood. The three girls become close friends, but come into conflict with Miss Tahare, Lara (Victoria Faure), who is arrogant, cold, and unwelcoming, and Miss Côte Turquoise, Pauline (Margaux Potin), who is outwardly racist towards Emmanuelle.

After discovering that she is one of the Maronan media's favorites to win the pageant, Emmanuelle calls her mother, who accidentally reveals to Emmanuelle that her father was hospitalized after being assaulted in a racist attack. The news leads Emmanuelle to attempt to quit the pageant, and she lashes out at Joëlle and Valentine after they attempt to convince her to stay. When Emmanuelle discusses her intention to quit the pageant with Madame Leblanc, they have a heart-to-heart discussion which leads Emmanuelle to decide to stay, as her family wished. As the contestants leave Tahare and depart for Avirac, Emmanuelle witnesses an emotional confrontation between Lara and her mother, which leads Emmanuelle to understand that Lara's behavior and attitude is a consequence of her mother's pressure on her, and her attitude towards the other contestants begins to soften. Emmanuelle makes up with Joëlle and Valentine prior to the beginning of the pageant, which Emmanuelle's father leaves the hospital early in order to attend with the remainder of her family. Emmanuelle later competes in the pageant, and captures the hearts of biracial young girls watching with their families throughout the country. She, Lara, and Joëlle each advance into the Top 12, while Valentine does not, and later the Top 5 as well along with the air-headed but sweet Miss Île-de-Marone and the charismatic Miss Ditrone. In the Top 5, Emmanuelle is asked the importance of tenacity and never giving up, to which she answers using the advice given to her earlier by Madame Leblanc, receiving rapturous applause in the audience and impressing the viewers at home. At the end of the pageant, Joëlle places as the fourth runner-up, Miss Île-de-Marone as the third runner-up, Miss Ditrone as the second runner-up, and Lara as the first runner-up, with Emmanuelle being declared the winner and the first biracial Miss Marone to come from metropolitan Marone.

## Cast

* Amalie Le Grouic as Madame Jeanne Leblanc
* Sébastien Assou as Christophe Okapi
* Édith Demaret as Lucille Weiel-Okapi
* Margot Starczewski as Joëlle, Miss Picarie
* Emma Cocquet as Valentine, Miss Carandie
* Victoria Faure as Lara, Miss Tahare
* Margaux Potin as Pauline, Miss Côte Turquoise
* Ludovine Franco as Valérie
* Adeline Rénard as Miss Ditrone
* Victoria D'Alessandro as Miss Île-de-Marone
* Williane Guillet as Miss Fuadeloupe
* Gisèle Rindelknecht as Miss Marone 1998
* Jeanne-Laure Houdin as Anne-Marie Oldenburg
* Ludovic Benoît as Cédric Fabre
* Manon Laufenberg as Miss Charlotte
* Bérénice Wofram as Miss Châtillon-Rèches
* Justine Pomère as Miss Grône-Fares
* Mélodie Sack as Miss Hautes-Robinelles
* Sabine Ndosi as Miss Jalotte
* Émeline Barros as Miss Languedoie
* Élisabeth Renaud as Miss Lauterne
* Louise Dollard as Miss Lousain
* Annie Lavigne as Miss Namou-Rentes
* Tasa Farah as Miss New Malonia
* Catherine Michaud as Miss Nord
* Jade Fehr as Miss Pays-du-Verne
* Sophie Douchbourg as Miss Pays-Libre
* Candice David as Miss Pitaine
* Laëtitia Laframboise as Miss Puyane
* Inès Roux as Miss Sainte-Edwige
* Ariane Zaragoza as Miss Terre Chasque
* Carla Hascoet as Miss Val-du-Verne
* Chloé Robillard as Miss Vetica
* Pateatua Ahurai as Miss Wahiti