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BERLINALE 2009 Panorama / France

Lioret’s Welcome in Berlin

by 

After the unexpected success of his intimate family drama Don’t Worry, I’m Fine [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, veteran French director Philippe Lioret attacks the confrontation of two vastly different worlds in his new feature Welcome [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Philippe Lioret
film profile
]
, which screens in Berlin as part of the Panorama section.

Welcome tells the story of Calais swimming instructor Simon (Vincent Lindon) who befriends young Kurdish refugee Bilal (Firat Ayverdi), who wants to swim the English Channel. Both have grand plans informed by love: Bilal wants to join his girlfriend in England, while Simon hopes to impress his wife (Audrey Dana), who wants a divorce, with his big heart.

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The story was informed by Lioret’s wish to tell the story of a refugee stranded just before his final destination. He chose Calais because from there it is possible to literally glance the destination across the sea, and it seems a bit “like our version of the Mexican border,” the director explained. “It would only take a bit of digging into the subject to come up with a fantastic piece of drama.”

Lioret conducted research in Calais and elsewhere to find the right angle for the story, and a big search was needed to finally find Ayverdi for the role of the 17-year-old Bilal. “I didn’t even know whether someone who could speak Kurdish and English and who could act would exist when we started casting,” said Lioret, but in Ayverdi he seems to have found exactly this person.

Christophe Rossignon produced the film for Nord-Ouest Productions, in co-production with Studio 37, France 3 Cinéma and the CRRAV. The film will be released March 11 in France by Mars Distribution. Films Distribution handles international sales.

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