Two screenings of the film Souffrance et Délivrance are scheduled this week in the Alpes-Maritimes: this Thursday, November 13 at 7 PM at the Mégarama in Nice and on Saturday, November 15 at 8 PM at the Eden cinema in Menton. Directed by Jean-François Ciranna, this documentary film addresses the theme of exorcism from a human and spiritual perspective.
Produced and directed by Jean-François Ciranna, Souffrance et Délivrance is a feature-length documentary of 88 minutes. Co-written with Monia Frouda, it explores an age-old but still sensitive issue: inner suffering and the practice of exorcism. The director, founder of the production company My Secret Angel Company, based in Cannes since 2022, presents here a work he describes as a sincere exploration of a often misunderstood subject.
The film aims to be a testimony on inner struggles and the search for deliverance. It relies on real images, without special effects. Jean-François Ciranna describes his approach as respectful, far from the horror movie clichés. “Souffrance et Délivrance is neither a horror film nor fiction, but a clear and profoundly human view on a very real spiritual battle,” the film’s presentation states.
Through testimonies and live exorcism sessions, the documentary proposes to observe without judging. It highlights exorcist priests, psychologists, and spiritual counselors faced with the distress of suffering individuals.
“Mental health is one of society’s challenges,” the documentary team emphasizes. The goal is to understand what these people experience, in a world where “malaise is spreading.“
Jean-François Ciranna: “You can no longer doubt after watching a session”
Jean-François Ciranna, in an interview given prior to the premiere, discusses his approach. He explains having taken an interest in the issue of suffering after meeting an exorcist priest. “I was talking with television executives because I’ve always been interested in the paranormal.“
Initially, he acknowledges his skepticism. “Personally, even though I’m attracted by the paranormal and interested, I didn’t really believe in exorcism.” This doubt led him to accept the proposal to attend an exorcism session, provided he could film. “And I guarantee you that even if I was skeptical at first, at the end you can no longer doubt. It’s quite impressive. It’s incredible what happens.“
The director mentions a unique atmosphere: “you enter a room, a church, where a chair stands in the middle, sealed in concrete with a bunch of ties, like an electric chair.” He describes strong physical reactions in those being exorcised: screams, contortions, changes in voice. “You have to see it to believe it. And this film, after all, is not made to scare, because there’s no special effects, no sensationalism, no audio effects. It’s only real facts. It’s just concrete.“
For Jean-François Ciranna, these sessions reveal a form of suffering that neither medicine nor psychiatry can always soothe. “Many people suffer from an invisible inner ailment that neither medicine, psychiatry, nor even friends can heal.“
A taboo subject, difficult to relate to
With Souffrance et Délivrance, the director aims to “totally demystify this mystery of exorcism.” He believes many viewers recognize themselves in the film: “after seeing the film, everyone, in any case, everyone knows a case and identifies with it.“
For him, exorcism is not a spectacle, but a path to faith and inner healing. “Exorcist priests do not fight with weapons. They are shadow warriors, but they fight with a cross, prayers, and faith.
At the end of the screenings, debates are scheduled with the presence of the exorcist priests who participated in this documentary film. These are moments of exchange during which viewers “say they didn’t expect that,” adds Jean-François Ciranna. He further invites the public to come discover the film “for informative purposes“: “it’s a film that is not there to scare, but really to learn what exorcism is,” notably thanks to the presence of a historian who provides an ancient perspective.
After these premieres in Nice and Menton, Souffrance et Délivrance will be released in French theaters and abroad on January 21, 2026, before being presented at several festivals and on streaming platforms.
