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FRANCE Bosnia and Herzegovina / Switzerland / Germany

Jean-Gabriel Périot prepares Facing Darkness

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- The upcoming documentary from the French filmmaker, produced by Alter Ego Production, has distinguished itself amongst the projects presented on the Lido at the Gap-Financing Market

Jean-Gabriel Périot prepares Facing Darkness
Director Jean-Gabriel Périot (© Manfred Werner)

Discovered with A German Youth [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(which opened the Panorama section at the 2015 Berlinale and was nominated for the Best Documentary César in 2016) before confirming with Our Defeats [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Forum section at the 2019 Berlinale) and Returning to Reims (Fragments) [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
which was unveiled last July in Directors’ Fortnight (broadcast on Arte in November before a cinema release in France in March 2022 via Jour2Fête), French documentarian Jean-Gabriel Périot (who has also dabbled in fiction with Summer Lights [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, presented in San Sebastian in 2016 in the New Directors programme) has distinguished himself with Facing Darkness [+see also:
film review
interview: Jean-Gabriel Périot
film profile
]
 amongst the selected projects at the 8th Venice Gap-Financing Market (which took place 3-5 September during the Venice Production Bridge of the 78th Venice Film Festival).

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Already in production with France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland and Germany, Facing Darkness will plunge into the heart of the 1325 days of the siege of Sarajevo (April 1992 - February 1996). The first part of the documentary will be made up of film clips shot during the siege by young filmmakers who took their cameras with them as they defended their city concretely and militarily. The second part of the film will be made up of interviews with these filmmakers who today testify to this singular experience. Aged between 18 and 25 at the time, some had voluntarily joined the army, others had been mobilized, and still others had preferred to be integrated into the civil protection. How and why did they start or continue making films? Did they pick up their cameras as they might have picked up guns? 25 years later, they remember the dark experiences they had.

Produced by Cécile Lestrade for French company Alter Ego Production with the Bosnians of Pravo Ljudsky (Kumjana Novakona) and the Swiss from Alina Film (David Epiney and Eugenia Mumenthaler), Facing Darkness will be co-produced by the Germans of Blinker Filmproduktion (Meike Martens), Amongst the partners are already the South region, the CNC and Méteore Films. Shooting will begin next April.

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(Translated from French)

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