Vincent Garenq, director of Forsaken, which was screened out of competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, spoke to Cineuropa about the political implications of his film, which revisits the murder of secondary school teacher Samuel Paty in 2020.

Cineuropa: How did you decide what to show and what not to show, particularly when it comes to violence — both physical and psychological?
Vincent Garenq: When I started writing the screenplay, naturally, there was something very cinematic about it, because cruelty is cinematic. There’s the unity of place: it takes place in a secondary school; the unity of time: it takes place over eleven days; and the unity of action, since everything revolves around a rumour. This creates a dramatic unity that works very well when writing a screenplay. I felt that this was a film where there was no need for special effects to convey the violence. It was enough simply to recount the facts. I discovered during editing that this came across naturally, without the need to overdo it, even with the music, because the tension was already there. When I read the investigation reports, particularly the story of the little girl who was spared just seconds before the murder, I knew quite early on that I would tell it that way. Similarly, I chose to stay in the car, at a distance, with the windscreen acting as a screen during the scene of violence, as this is based on the testimony of the local police. It was the right distance to show it, but I had to show it in such a way that his face could be seen at some point in the film, because not all viewers know the story, especially young people, even though Samuel Paty is a name etched into the French collective memory.

Was it important to you that the film be accessible to young audiences?
When I wrote the screenplay, I felt it was really important that young people should be able to see it, as the story is set in a secondary school and children play a central role in it. I asked the Department for Education to support the film, in order to encourage its screening to students and to provide a form of official endorsement to teachers. Some teachers will show it, but others may hesitate out of fear. Even today, discussing these topics with students remains a sensitive issue, but this fear can be largely overcome if the government recommends showing the film.

In your director’s statement, you say that the 2024 trial revealed a few surprising things. Did attending the trial change the script or the way in which the story is told?
I wrote the first draft of the screenplay before the trial. I already had a lot of background material, which I drew upon. Then came the trial. And there, people came forward to give evidence: you see them, you hear them and their words are inevitably very moving. The scene where the headteacher learns of Samuel Paty’s death was recounted at the trial. I hadn’t found it in the documents I’d read beforehand, so I added it in afterwards; there were lots of other things like that. The character of the school caretaker, for example, came to give evidence. And that’s when I realised she was truly a key character, because she’s based at the school entrance. She didn’t have the same role in my first draft of the story.

You refer to a “middle ground in France” – a tolerant but largely ignored section of society. Does the film aim to create a space for dialogue rather than exacerbate polarisation?
Yes. I immediately sensed that, whilst there were obviously some very difficult aspects to this story, there were also some very reassuring elements. The Muslim mothers who support Samuel Paty, the Islamist’s daughter who appears at the end of the film to speak out and says she has cut ties with her father because she rejects fundamentalism... There are many positive aspects, but it’s clear that reality is complex, never black and white, but rather grey. We wanted to make a film that reflects France, with actors of different backgrounds and beliefs, centred on the values of liberty, equality and fraternity. It’s a film about reconciliation, carried by the actors as a tribute to Samuel Paty.

How did the collaboration go between the highly experienced lead actors and the non-professionals?
What’s lovely is the mix. In the film, you can see there are all sorts of backgrounds. It’s a film that reflects France, and when there are children in it, it brings it to life. In fact, even though all children do terrible things, we still love them. The actress who plays Bachira told me that her school friends loved the final scenes, where the characters are at the police station full of regret, and that they all came out crying. It’s a film that moves everyone, and even though I’d hoped for it, I hadn’t really expected it.