Shoot about to commence for No Gods No Masters
- Saleh Bakri, Jenna Thiam and Pascal Greggory topline Eric Cherrière’s second feature, staged by Ran Entertainment and Logical Pictures
The first clapperboard is set to slam on 16 October for No Gods No Masters, the second feature by Eric Cherrière, following his head-turning film noir Cruel [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (which was unveiled at Busan in 2014 and was sold to 25 countries). The filmmaker, who is also a novelist, has assembled a cast including Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (The Band’s Visit [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Salvo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabio Grassadonia and Anton…
interview: Sara Serraiocco
film profile], Wajib [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Jenna Thiam (Daydreams [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Caroline Deruas
film profile], The Returned), Pascal Greggory (nominated for the César Award for Best Actor in 1999 and 2001, nominated for the César for Best Supporting Actor in 2008 for La Vie en Rose [+see also:
trailer
film profile], popular in the Locarno title 9 Fingers [+see also:
film review
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interview: FJ Ossang
film profile]), Richard Duval (who is teaming up with the director again after Cruel), Stéphane Hénon (the series Plus belle la vie), Edith Scob (nominated for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2009 and 2013 for Summer Hours [+see also:
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film profile] and Holy Motors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Leos Carax
film profile]) and Jérôme Le Banner (Babylon A.D. [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). They will be flanked by Flore Grimaud, Arnaud Fauconnet, Jean-Claude Drouot, Guillaume Tobo, Alexis Bonnefis, Philippe Burel and Matila Malliarakis.
Written by Eric Cherrière and Isabelle Desesquelles, the story unfolds in the winter of the year 1215. A mysterious stranger who has escaped from prison arrives in a tiny, remote village in the kingdom of France plagued by famine and leprosy, and ruled by an ageing lord, a former hero from the Crusades, Lord Ocam. Together with his horde of knights, Ocam abducts a young girl from the village in order to exert his droit du seigneur over her. A handful of villagers, backed up by The Stranger, attempt to release her, but they only have until nightfall…
No Gods No Masters was selected for the Cinéfondation Atelier at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and was initially conceived as a medieval western, an adventure film that resonates with the modern world. According to the director’s note, “The weapons that the heroes choose to unsheathe – or not – are a metaphor for the decisions that we are faced with every single day: whether to endure or to stand up and fight.” Drawing its inspiration from both The New One-Armed Swordsman by Chang Cheh and The Virgin Spring by Ingmar Bergman, the movie will depict a dream-like and crepuscular rendition of the Middle Ages, setting the scene for the confrontation that will play out over the several hours that the story lasts.
Produced by Ran Entertainment (Eric Tavitian and Tim Belda) and Logical Pictures (Frédéric Fiore), No Gods No Masters boasts support from the Occitanie region. The five-week shoot will take place in the French department of Lot from 16 October-18 November. The national distribution will be managed by The Jokers.
As a reminder, Ran Entertainment was a co-producer on the Spanish films Toro [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kike Maíllo
film profile] and Eva [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Kike Maillo, and produced Vulcania [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by José Skaf. For its part, Logical Pictures recently co-produced Revenge [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Coralie Fargeat
film profile] by Coralie Fargeat.
(Translated from French)
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