14/09/2016 - Anders Danielsen Lie, Golshifteh Farahani, Denis Lavant and a whole load of zombies are among the cast of the feature debut by Dominique Rocher, produced by Haut et Court

Actors Anders Danielsen Lie, Golshifteh Farahani and Denis Lavant

24 October will see the start of the shoot for The Night Eats the World [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] in Paris. The film is the feature debut by Dominique Rocher (who turned heads with his short film La vitesse du passé) and is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Pit Agarmen (published by Editions Robert Laffont). According to Cineuropa's sources, the cast includes Norway's Anders Danielsen Lie (nominated for the Amanda Award for Best Actor in 2012 for Oslo, August 31st [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile], popular in This Summer Feeling [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mikhaël Hers
film profile], Fidelio: Alice's Journey [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Lucie Borleteau
film profile] and, more recently, Personal Shopper [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Artemio Benki
interview: Olivier Assayas
film profile]), French-Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani (nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress in 2014 for The Patience Stone [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and for the Lumière Award in the same category in 2016 for Les Deux Amis [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], also putting on fine performances in such titles as My Sweet Pepper Land [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Paterson [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) and Denis Lavant (nominated for the César Award for Best Actor in 2013 for Holy Motors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Leos Carax
film profile]).

Written by Guillaume Lemans (Anything for Her [+see also:
trailer
film profile], A Perfect Man [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Jérémie Guez (Iris [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and Dominique Rocher, the story revolves around Sam, a solitary, 36-year-old musician who does not like to socialise. One evening, he attends a party in a spacious Parisian apartment, organised by Fanny, his ex, who left him and took some of his belongings that he was particularly fond of. As the party unfolds, Sam sees strange signs of unusual behavioural disorders in the merrymakers, and he is attacked by Fanny's new boyfriend… He shuts himself away in a room and ends up falling asleep there, on his own. He wakes up early the next morning: the flat is empty, and the revellers are wandering the streets, having transformed into zombies. All alone, Sam is forced to make a barricade to protect himself and figure out how to survive. He secures the block of flats by dispatching the zombies that are roaming around inside. However, he can't bring himself to kill one of them, a harmless old man who has been infected, whom he locks in the lift shaft and will become his only confidant. Sam eventually strikes a kind of balance in the building. The abandoned flats provide a form of entertainment, allowing him to let his imagination run wild and express itself through the lives he could have led. But even for a recluse like Sam, it's hard to put up with this unmitigated solitude. What is there to live for when one is all alone in the world? And is Sam really the sole survivor of this plague of zombies?

Produced by Carole Scotta for Haut et Court, The Night Eats the World has been pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+. The film, which has backing from the TorinoFilmLab, will shoot for eight weeks in Paris, from 24 October-22 December. The French distribution will be handled directly by Haut et Court.

Haut et Court has just unveiled 150 Milligrams [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Emmanuelle Bercot at the Toronto International Film Festival; on Friday, it will be the opening film, in competition, of the San Sebastián Film Festival.

(Translated from French)