In his struggle with depression and anxiety, Paul finds refuge in a therapeutic fantasy: cleaning dominatrices' houses. Sharing the experience on Instagram helps him combat loneliness.
Paul is a lonely guy. Like so many other young people, he seeks the world's attention online. Under the pseudonym @cleaningsimppaul, he cleans dominatrices' houses in exchange for submission games that allow him to alleviate his crippling social anxiety. It's this mix of service and devotion that also embodies the notion of "simp," a digital slang term that defines someone who sometimes goes to extremes to obtain a little affection, attention, or validation.
Denis Côté offers an observational perspective, free from judgment and sensationalism, to explore the fragility, contradictions, and humanity of a young man vulnerable to loneliness and confinement, yet also capable of transforming his obsessions into an unexpected path to connection and survival. It's a fresh look at the role of social media, not only as a source of alienation, but also as a potential escape from personal despair.
Martín Castillo, programming director of FIDOCS 29
Denis Côté (1973, Canada). Between 1995 and 2005, he produced and directed 15 short films while working as a journalist and film critic. His first feature film, 'Les états nordiques' (2005), received a Golden Leopard at Locarno. At the Berlinale, he won a Silver Bear for 'Vic+Flo Saw A Bear' (2013) and the Best Director award in the Encounters section for 'Hygiène sociale' (2021). More than 40 retrospectives of his work have been held, and he received the Albert-Tessier Award (2024), Quebec's highest film honor, for his lifetime achievement.