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PRODUCTION / FUNDING France

Shoot about to kick off for Mathieu Gérault’s South Sentinel

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- The cast of the film, which is being produced by Agat Films & Cie and sold by Be for Films, includes Niels Schneider, Sofian Khammes, India Hair, Denis Lavant and Thomas Daloz

Shoot about to kick off for Mathieu Gérault’s South Sentinel
Actor Niels Schneider

On 16 March, the first clapperboard is due to slam for South Sentinel [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mathieu Gérault
film profile
]
 by Mathieu Gérault, who made a splash with his short film Hautes herbes (presented in the 2001 Directors’ Fortnight and awarded at the Premiers Plans Festival in Angers, among other gatherings). The cast includes Niels Schneider (giving some great performances recently in Sibyl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Justine Triet
film profile
]
and Sympathy for the Devil [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ella Rumpf
interview: Guillaume de Fontenay
film profile
]
, and set to grace screens from 30 September in Suzanna Andler), Sofian Khammes (who rose to fame in Chouf [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, turned heads in The World Is Yours [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Romain Gavras
film profile
]
and Fast Convoy [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, and can be seen in movie theatres from 1 April in Fishlove [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and, in the second half of the year, in The Swarm and Arthur Rambo), India Hair (popular in the recent titles Crash Test Aglaé [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
and Staying Vertical [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alain Guiraudie
film profile
]
; due to grace screens from 20 May in Mandibules), Denis Lavant and Thomas Daloz (nominated for the 2020 Lumières Award for Best New Actor for Particles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Blaise Harrison
film profile
]
).

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The story, written by Mathieu Gérault in conjunction with Nicolas Silhol (Corporate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicolas Silhol
film profile
]
) and Noé Debré (nominated for the 2006 César Award for Best Original Screenplay for Dheepan [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Jacques Audiard
film profile
]
), revolves around a soldier called Christian Lafayette, who is back in France just days after a deadly ambush in Afghanistan. He soon gets mixed up in opium trafficking together with Mounir, his brother in arms who was injured in the ambush. Former foster child Lafayette, now a tormented war hero, chooses a new family by walking a path of crime. But to escape the violence, Christian will have to learn how to love…

Produced by David Coujard for Agat Films & Cie, South Sentinel is being co-produced by Auvergne Rhône Alpes Cinéma. Having been pre-purchased by Ciné+, the feature has also secured support from the CNC’s advance on receipts, the Nouvelle Aquitaine region, and the Cinéaxe, Indéfilms and Manon Soficas. The project, which took part in the Émergence directing residency and the La Sélection writing workshops (organised by the Gan Foundation and Le Groupe Ouest), was also a finalist for the Screenplay Grand Prize in 2019. The six-week shoot will take place in Lyon and La Rochelle, with Laurent Brunet (nominated for the 2009 César Award for Séraphine [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, and acclaimed for his work on Arab Blues [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Manele Labidi
film profile
]
and Tel Aviv on Fire [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sameh Zoabi
film profile
]
, among others) in charge of the cinematography. Interestingly, the score will be composed by Evgueni Galperine (winner of the 2017 European Film Award in his category for Loveless [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrey Zvyagintsev
film profile
]
and nominated for the 2020 Lumières Award for By the Grace of God [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: François Ozon
film profile
]
, also garnering praise for his work on the recent titles Beanpole [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, Corpus Christi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bartosz Bielenia
interview: Jan Komasa
film profile
]
and Persian Lessons [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Leonie Benesch
film profile
]
).

The French theatrical release of South Sentinel will be handled by UFO Distribution, while the international sales are being overseen by Belgium’s Be for Films (a subsidiary of the French group Playtime).

Agat Films & Cie, which recently presented the documentaries Golda Maria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Patrick Sobelman and Hugo S…
film profile
]
by Patrick and Hugo Sobelman and Little Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sébastien Lifshitz
film profile
]
by Sébastien Lifshitz at Berlin, currently has Twist à Bamako by Robert Guédiguian (see the article) in production, and The Big Hit by Emmanuel Courcol (see the article), Goodnight, Soldier by Hiner Saleem and the documentary Pingouin & Goéland et leurs 300 petits [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Michel Leclerc in post-production.

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(Translated from French)

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