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PRODUCTION Belgium

Jonathan Zaccaï hits rock bottom in Sylvestre Sbille's first feature

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- Jonathan Zaccaï and Ben Riga fight it out in Je te survivrai, Sylvestre Sbille's first feature produced by Panache Productions

Shooting has just finished for Sylvestre Sbille's feature debut Je te survivrai (lit. "I will survive you"), a psychological dual between two tough and rugged characters whose coarseness will slowly be smoothed out during the confrontation.

Joe is 40 years old. An ambitious property developer, he may be a crafty (and boastful) business genius who could sell ice to an eskimo, but he doesn't fare quite so well as a husband, father, or generally in human relations. Vaguely misanthropic, he lives far away from anyone in a magnificent country home. Anyone, that is, except for Blanche, his solitary and ill-tempered elderly neighbour, whose animal-ridden hovel ruins his view. Joe tells himself that it would be quite nice, really, if somehow the old lady dropped out of sight... Desperate, he decides to climb down into his well to cut off her water supply and drive her away. But the joke is soon on him when he becomes stuck at the bottom of the well with the unfathomable Blanche as his only witness.

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The somewhat secretive film's 100% Belgian cast includes Jonathan Zaccaï and Ben Riga, as well as David Murgia, Tania Garbarski, Laurent Capelluto, and Benoit Bertuzzo in supporting roles. The film is produced by André Logie (Panache Productions), for whom its a first majority feature production. His extended experience in film co-production (The Concert [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Radu Mihaileanu
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]
, The Source [+see also:
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, Little White Lies [+see also:
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]
) allowed him to bring Alain Attal (Les Productions du Trésor) onboard, and thus to produce the film without the traditional Belgian or French institutional funding, even if we do however note Wallimage's participation in the project, as well as many television channels (RTBF, Belgacom, BeTV, Liberty TV, Orange Cinéma, France Télévisions Distribution) linked to it. The film is being made on a budget of a little over €1.6m, and already has distributors in Belgium (Cinéart) and France (Mars Distribution), as well as an international sales agent (Wild Bunch).

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(Translated from French)

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