Costa-Gavras’ Eden is West (see news) has a very European cast with young Italian star Riccardo Scamarcio (My Brother Is an Only Child [trailer, film focus]) playing the lead role alongside German director Fatih Akin, his compatriot Ulrich Tukur (who appeared in Costa-Gavras’ The Axe [trailer] and Amen) and French actors Michel Bouquet, Eric Caravaca and Anny Duperey.
Co-written by the director and his collaborator Jean-Claude Grunberg, the screenplay – which retraces the misadventures of a young migrant who tries to enter the European Union illegally – also gives a glimpse of the film’s subject matter.

Elias (Scamarcio) jumps out of a cargo boat carrying men and women fleeing their country’s poverty, as the vessel is about to be intercepted by some coastguards. Ending up in an inlet, Elias comes across some naked youngsters playing ball and he joins in: he has reached the Eden Club.

He thus discovers a world of sumptuous buffets, extravagance, parties and sexual practices unknown to him. He passes for a holiday-maker or an employee and makes the most of the new experiences on offer to him, before being found out by the club’s security. But this is only the beginning of his journey from the Aegean Sea to Paris.

Produced by Michèle Ray Gavras for KG Productions, Eden is West’s €7.27m budget includes a 20% co-production investment from the Greek company Odeon, co-production and pre-sales support from France 3 Cinéma, pre-sales from Canal + and €320,000 in financial backing from the Ile-de-France region, where 54 days of filming are set to take place between April and May 28.

Shooting will begin today in the north of the Hautes-Alpes, in Montgenèvre, in the Vallée de la Clarée and the Lautaret pass. The schedule also includes five weeks in Crete and the film will be lensed by Patrick Blossier.

Also co-producing, Pathé will release the film domestically and manage international sales.