Alexandre didn’t wait for his fiancée to cheat on him to be unhappy. Ever since his father disappeared at sea when he was just a child, he’s been unable to live life to the fullest. But that summer, when he lands in his hometown of Sète, on the Mediterranean coast, he meets a group of fishermen at an impromptu fishing competition, where everyone has to stake their most precious possession. Among them is Jonas, an old homeless man mocked by all, who bets a mysterious gold lighter.

Alexandre and Jonas are two solitudes who meet and help each other, in a “Sétoise” rewriting of Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea. A modern tale blending together humor and tragedy, The Fishing Competition reveals what hope remains when you think you’ve lost everything.