SK1/ L’Affaire SK1

West Coast Premiere • Drama • France, 2015

DCP • 2.35 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 119 min

Directed by: Frédéric Tellier
Co-written by: Frédéric Tellier, David Oelhoffen and Patricia Tourancheau
Cinematography: Mathias Boucard
Film Editing: Mickael Dumontier
Original Score: Christophe La Pinta, Frédéric Tellier
Produced by: Julien Madon (Labyrinthe Films)
Coproduced by: SND Groupe M6, Cinefrance
Cast: Raphaël Personnaz (Franck), Nathalie Baye (Maître Frédérique Pons), Olivier Gourmet (Bougon), Adama Niane (Guy George)
International Sales: SND Groupe M6
US Distributor: Kino Lorber • Kinolorber.com
US release date: 2015

Franck is an eager rookie homicide squad inspector. When a woman is found with her throat cut, he shrewdly unearths parallels between previously unrelated cases. Before he knows it, Franck is caught up in an eight-year obsessive hunt for SK1 – Serial Killer 1 – a man whose very existence is questioned by others. Loosely based on the investigation into real-life murderer Guy Georges, aka the Beast Of The Bastille (whose lurking disorder is deftly captured by Adama Niane), the story milks suspense from the procedural aspects of the manhunt, the false leads, dead ends, and the stifling bureaucracy of a police force hindered by dwindling budgets and a knee-jerk insistence on outdated, traditional methods. Raphaël Personnaz, Marius in Marius and Fanny (COLCOA 2014), is the perfect channel for Franck’s perseverance and anger, while Nathalie Baye checks in with a memorable turn as a public defender convinced the police don’t have a case.

Specializing in police procedurals, writer/director Frédéric Tellier marks his feature debut with a story about one of the trickiest criminal cases in recent French history, and the first case to incorporate DNA evidence. Tellier began as an assistant director before establishing a career directing successful television films and series in France. Describing co-writer David Oelhoffen, (known for his 2014 Vigo Mortensen starrer Far From Men), as his “accomplice,” Tellier worked closely with him to bring journalist Patricia Tourancheau’s book, Guy Georges – La Traque, to life for the big screen.

Quotes:

“Tellier reveals a knack for building tension out of bureaucratic calamity.”
– Jordan Mintzer HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“Baye is excellent as the morally-conflicted lawyer Pons”
– Judith Miller FRENCH CINEMA REVIEW