30/10/2025 - Jean-Louis Coulloc'h, Alexis Manenti and Ella Rumpf headline the French filmmaker's debut feature, produced by 5 à 7 Films

Actors Jean-Louis Coulloc’h (© Agence Christine Lancelle) and Alexis Manenti (© Harald Krichel) and actress Ella Rumpf (© Quejaytee)

Filming for L’espèce explosive, Sarah Arnold's first feature film, began on 22 September in the Grand Est region and has just been completed. Having made a name for herself with her short films, notably Parades (in national competition at Locarno in 2017 and Clermont-Ferrand in 2018) and Totems (Golden Leopard in national competition at Locarno in 2014), the Italian-Swiss filmmaker has brought together a cast headed by Jean-Louis Coulloc'h (nominated for the 2007 César Award for Most Promising Actor for Lady Chatterley [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], recently seen in Love according to Dalva [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuelle Nicot
interview: Emmanuelle Nicot, Julie Esp…
film profile] and The Divide [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Catherine Corsini
film profile], among others), Alexis Manenti (César Award for Most Promising Actor in 2020 for Les Misérables [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ladj Ly
film profile], appearing next year in Du fioul dans les artères) and Ella Rumpf (César Award for Most Promising Actress and Lumière Award for Best Newcomer in 2024 for Marguerite's Theorem [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anna Novion
film profile], appearing this year in Love Letters [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Couture [+see also:
film review
interview: Alice Winocour, Louis Garrel
film profile]).

Also making an appearance are Vincent Dedienne (recently in Plastic Guns [+see also:
film review
interview: Jean-Christophe Meurisse
film profile]), Xavier de Guillebon (recently in Niki [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and The Count of Monte-Cristo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Pascal Rénéric (Ari [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Léonor Serraille
film profile]), Bertrand Belin (Jim's Story [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu
film profile]), Thierry Godard (TV series Spiral and Dark Hearts) and Jacques Develay (nominated for the 2025 César Award for Best Supporting Actor for Misericordia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alain Guiraudie
film profile]).

Written by the director, in collaboration with Jérémie Dubois, Olivier Seror, Romain Winkler and Mehdi Ben Attia, the screenplay is set in the countryside of North-Eastern France. Wild boars ravaging crops spark an open war between hunters and farmers. Brun, a bankrupt grain farmer, struggles to keep his farm afloat. When a local dignitary pushes him to his limits, he snaps and disappears. A year later, Fulda, a Corsican police officer transferred to the region for disciplinary reasons, leads the investigation. Between flashes of insight and spectacular failures, his rough methods lead him on the trail of the Attilas, wild boars of extraordinary size. But his recent break-up and the vodka clouding his brain don't help. Fortunately, there's Stéphane, the gendarmerie's new psychologist: she's there to bring some order to his chaos — or is it the other way around?

L’espèce explosive is produced by Helen Olive and Martin Bertier for 5 à 7 Films and co-produced by France 3 Cinéma. Pre-bought by Canal+, Ciné+ OCS and France Télévisions, the feature film also benefits from advance funding from the CNC, the Grand Est region (where the six weeks of shooting took place), Ubik and Co, Sofica Cofinova, Cinémage and Sansofica. Cinematography is handled by Noé Bach (Wild Diamond [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agathe Riedinger
film profile], Animalia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sofia Alaoui
film profile]) and music will be composed by Florencia Di Concilio (nominated for a Lumière in 2021 for Calamity, une enfance de Martha Jane Cannary [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Henri Magalon
film profile]). The release in French cinemas will be handled by Pan Distribution, with international sales still under negotiation.

As a reminder, 5 à 7 Films recently added Isabel Pagliai's documentary Fantasy (Best First Film Award at FIDMarseille 2025) to its portfolio.

(Translated from French)