Simon Moutaïrou shoots Ni chaînes ni maîtres
- Ibrahima Mbaye, Anna Thiandoum, Camille Cottin and Benoît Magimel head the cast of the screenwriter’s directorial feature debut, produced by Chi-Fou-Mi and sold by StudioCanal
After beginning on 2 May, filming on Ni chaînes ni maîtres by Simon Moutaïrou is still underway in Mauritius, where it will end on 23 June. This is the directorial feature debut for the screenwriter who was nominated for the 2022 César award for Best Original Screenplay with Black Box [+see also:
trailer
film profile], and who is also behind Goliath [+see also:
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film profile], The Crew [+see also:
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Standing out in the cast are Senegalese actor Ibrahima Mbaye "Thié" (seen in Atlantics [+see also:
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interview: Mati Diop
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film profile]), Anna Thiandoum (for the first time on the big screen), Camille Cottin (famous for her role as Andrea Martel in the series Call My Agent!, appreciated also in Stillwater and House of Gucci and soon in L’Empire) and Benoît Magimel (who recently won both the César and Lumière awards for Best Actor in 2022 and 2023, for Peaceful [+see also:
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film profile] and Pacifiction [+see also:
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interview: Albert Serra
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interview: Elias Belkeddar
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film profile]). Also in the cast are Bass Dhem (Cuties [+see also:
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interview: Maïmouna Doucouré
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interview: Houda Benyamina
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Q&A: Jacques Audiard
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interview: Delphine Deloget
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Written by the director, the script is set in 1759. Mauritius is in the hands of the Kingdom of France. Massamba and Mati, two slaves in the plantation of Eugène Larcenet (Benoît Magimel), live a life of fear and toil. He dreams for his daughter to be freed, while she longs to leave the green hell of sugarcane. One night, she runs away. Madame La Victoire (Camille Cottin), a famous slave huntress, is tasked with tracking her down. Massamba has no choice but to escape from the plantation in his turn. By doing so, he becomes a “maroon”, a fugitive who breaks forever with the colonial order…
Produced by Nicolas Dumont and Hugo Sélignac for Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, Ni chaînes ni maîtres is co-produced by France 2 Cinéma, Les Autres Films and StudioCanal. Pre-bought by Canal+, Ciné+ and France Télévisions, the feature film also benefits from the support of the advance on receipts from the CNC. The direction of photography is handled by Antoine Sanier. French distribution and international sales are managed by StudioCanal.
For the record, Chi-Fou-Mi Productions currently pilots, in post-production, the films Toni en famille by Nathan Ambrosioni (with Camille Cottin in the leading role) and Une zone à défendre by Romain Cogitore (for Disney+, with Lyna Khoudri and François Civil in the cast), while L’amour ouf by Gilles Lellouche is currently filming (starring Adèle Exarchopoulos, François Civil, Mallory Wanecque, Benoît Poelvoorde, Alain Chabat, Vincent Lacoste, Jean-Pascal Zadi an Élodie Bouchez).
(Translated from French)
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