HOPEFULLY / Encore heureux

 

West Coast Premiere • Black Comedy • France, 2016

DCP • 1.85 • Dolby • Color • 93 min

Directed by: Benoît Graffin

Written by: Benoît Graffin, Nicolas Bedos, Mika Tard, Deborah Saïag

Cinematography: Antoine Héberlé

Film Editing: Jennifer Augé

Original Score: Stephen Coates

Produced by: E.D.I. Films, EuropaCorp

Cast: Sandrine Kiberlain (Marie), Edouard Baer (Sam), Carla Besnaïnou (Alexia), Bull Ogier (Madeleine) 

International Sales: EuropaCorp • europacorp.com

 

Picture the model family:  the dad, a successful CEO; the mom, attentive and nurturing; the loving son and daughter, good kids, bright and talented. The four of them are all cozied up in shiny digs in the ‘burbs. Now throw a nasty economic recession into the mix. And watch it all go to hell. That’s the conceit of this outlandish tragicomedy pairing two of France’s best comic actors, Edouard Baer and Sandrine Kiberlain, as a couple whose fortunes have gone south – on the real. After two years with no income, Sam and Marie have downsized everything, including their moral standards. Poverty? Homelessness? It’s not supposed to happen to good people like this. But somehow, they’ve gone from dreaming of ways to get ahead to scheming up ways just to get by, even if that means taking advantage of little old ladies, or selling your “assets” to a handsome neighbor. Oh, and the kids? They’re in on the act. With one dirty little deed, the model family has dug themselves into a nice deep hole. Now all they can do is hope that no one will ever find out what’s buried down there.

Fifteen years have passed since writer/director Benoît Graffin called the shots for his feature Beach Café (2001), based on a short story by Moroccan writer Mohammed Mrabet. During that time Graffin has kept busy with a successful writing career, notably collaborating with Pierre Salvadori on many films, including Priceless (COLCOA 2007) and In the Courtyard (COLCOA 2014), as well as co-writing The Girl From Monaco (COLCOA 2009) with director Anne Fontaine. In fact, it was while co-writing actor/director Edouard Baer’s upcoming feature Ouvert la nuit that Graffin decided that Baer would be perfect for the role of Sam and asked him to read the script. Ironically, for the screenplay of his own film, Graffin worked with a team of three other writers, Nicolas Bedos, Mika Tard, Deborah Saïag, all of whom have multiple acting credits in addition to their writing.

 

QUOTES:

“…one of the more memorable comic takes on France’s recent and ongoing economic woes.”

– Jordan Mintzer Hollywood Reporter