TURNING TIDE / En Solitaire 

West Coast Premiere • Adventure • France, 2013

DCP • 2.35 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 96 min

 

Directed by: Christophe Offenstein

Written by: Jean Cottin, Pierre Marcel, Christophe Offenstein, Frédéric Petitjean

Cinematography: Guillaume Schiffman,

Film Editing: Véronique Lange

Original Score: Victor Reyes, Patrice Renson

Produced by: Jean Cottin, Laurent Taïeb (Les Films du Cap), Sidonie Dumas (Gaumont)

Cast: François Cluzet (Yann Kermadec), Guillaume Canet (Frank Drevil), Samy Seghir (Mano Ixa), Arly Jover (Anna)

International Sales: Gaumont

 

Sailor Yann Kermadec has always dreamed of competing in the prestigious Vendée Globe round-the-world solo yacht race. When a star skipper is injured in an accident at the last minute, he gets his shot. Determined to make the most of his golden opportunity, Kermadec fearlessly weathers storms like the seadog he is and seizes the early lead. Just when it looks like nothing, even a broken rudder, can keep him from victory, Kermadec discovers something hidden on his boat. Something that’s not supposed to be there at all – another person. His mysterious passenger appears sickly, but if discovered, it will mean his immediate disqualification, his golden opportunity squandered. Kermadec decides to do what anyone would do – continue the race.

 

A César-nominated cinematographer, writer/director Christophe Offenstein was the man behind the camera for such notable films as Tell No One (2006 – COLCOA 2007), and Blood Ties (2013). He is a long-time collaborator with Guillaume Canet, shooting all of the films he directed, as well as François Cluzet, having shot two films in which the veteran actor starred. For his directorial debut, Offenstein fearlessly shot in open waters, making it ambitious by any standard. But Offenstein is accustomed to extreme adventure – he participated in the first edition of the famously grueling Paris-Dakar motorcycle race. For him, the open sea forever looming in Turning Tide represents the absolute loneliness that every competitor feels.

 

 “The sequences depicting Cluzet's struggle against the elements are a visual tour de force.”

- James Travers FILMSDEFRANCE