22/07/2010

Shooting starts next Monday on Ismaël Ferroukhi’s second feature: Free Men. Winner of the Lion of the Future Award at Venice in 2004 with Le Grand Voyage (also nominated for the BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006), the director has this time put together a cast including Tahar Rahim (2009 European Film Award and 2010 Best Actor Cesar for A Prophet [+see also:
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interview: Jacques Audiard and Tahar R…
film profile]), Mahmoud Shalaby (Jaffa [+see also:
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Arrested by the French police, Younes is accused of complicity and threatened with being shot. But the police detective offers him a deal: his freedom in exchange for keeping surveillance over the Paris Mosque, which is suspected of helping Resistance fighters and Jews.

In the Mosque, Younes meets Algerian-born singer Salim Halali. Touched by his voice and personality, he becomes friends with him, discovering soon afterwards that he is Jewish. Despite the risks, Younes puts an end to his collaboration with the police. A friendship is born between Younes and Salim, which develops as events unfold.

Anti-Jewish laws and German repression don’t prevent Salim from continuing his activities as a singer. But the net gradually tightens around him. One evening, Salim is arrested by the Gestapo who suspect him of hiding his Jewish identity. Faced with this barbarity, immigrant worker Younes, who has no political education, gradually turns into a freedom activist.

Free Men is produced for €7.9m by Pyramide Productions (who will also handle French distribution and international sales). The budget includes co-production support from France 3 Cinéma, Solaire Production and VMP.

Pre-bought by Canal + and Ciné Cinéma, the film also has backing from the National Film and Moving Image Centre (CNC) (via an advance on receipts, re-rewriting grant and the “Images de la Diversité” fund), Acsé, the MEDIA Programme, the Île-de-France region, Manon, Coficup and TV5.

Shooting will take place in the Paris area and Morocco until October 2. The film’s theatrical release is scheduled for the second half of 2011.

(Translated from French)