14/02/2006

The second week of shooting began yesterday in Tourcoing, in the north of France, on Les yeux bandés (lit. "Blindfolded"), the first feature from the 29 year-old director Thomas Lilti, who stands out among his peers for the fact that he is also a general practitioner. Noticed thanks to his short films, especially Après l'enfance which was screened in the Directors’ Fortnight in at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, he has brought together a cast that includes Guillaume Depardieu, Jonathan Zaccaï (In His Hands [+see also:
trailer
film profile], The Beat My Heart Skipped [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Chloé Réjon and Lionel Abelanski. Co-written by Lilti and Pierre Chosson, the screenplay focuses on 37 year-old Théo (Jonathan Zaccaï), who divides his life between Louise (Chloé Réjon), who is pregnant, and his job as a truck-driver. But some news will force him to return, after years of absence, to his hometown. Martin (Depardieu), with whom he was brought up in a foster family, has just been arrested for raping and killing several young women. Théo refuses to believe it and wants to save his brother.

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Produced by Alain Benguigui for Sombrero Productions, Les yeux bandés received an advance on receipts of €450,000 from the National Film Centre , €150,000 in support from the northern Pas de Calais Region and co-production aid from Rhône–Alpes Cinéma. The filmmaker’s screenplay was one of the winners of the 2004 Fondation Gan pour le Cinéma. The seven-week shoot will be divided into two periods: until March 3 in the north, then from March 6-24 in Saint Etienne. Distributor Pyramide, which also handles international sales, will probably release Les yeux bandés in the first half of 2007.

(Translated from French)