Cold Water (French: L'eau froide) is a 1994 French film written and directed by Olivier Assayas about two troubled teenagers in France during the 1970s. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.In October, 2007, it was screened at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, California, where Assayas spent a week in residence introducing and discussing his films with the audiences there. He was accompanied by his friend Jean-Michel Frodon, the current director of the journal Cahiers du cinéma, of which Assayas was once the director. Assayas said the film is autobiographical, reflecting upon his own teenage years. He went out of his way to cast actors who were not professionals or who, as in the case of male lead Cyprien Fouquet (playing Gilles), had never acted before, although female lead Virginie Ledoyen (playing Christine) had appeared in several films. The film was the result of a commission from French TV, which wanted a 52-minute film but allowed Assayas to make a longer version, after some negotiations.