Project overview

Nevers is Emilie Lamoine's first feature film.

It stars Jean Christophe Folly - Claire Denis’ 35 Rhums and upcomings film The Bastards - and Alvie Bitemo - singer actress from Congo Brazaville. A road movie by foot, two young Africans lost in the French country, the collapse of their love story... The film was shot during the summer 2011 and, at the time, it was financed by a first round of contributions from KissKIssBankBank and was even "picked" by La Banque Postale for an additional bonus fund. Today, with young producer Paul Conquet and his production house ZAMIZDAT on board, we still need your help. Post production is crucial and any contribution will help make the film better and ultimately seen by everyone !

Synopsis

Justin is from Togo and Almina is from Congo. They are leaving Paris, fearing an expulsion. They hitch hike to Nevers where an uncle lives. Cars won't stop. On foot, along roads and fields, they roam through deserted places and edges. The more they walk, the more they feel how the distance between them has grown, how their love and desire have run out.

Nevers_de_emilie_lamoine_-_still_1

Cast

Alvie Bitemo

Nevers_de_emilie_lamoine_-_still_2

Jean-Christophe Folly

Nevers_de_emilie_lamoine_-_still_5

Roch Banzouzi

Nevers_de_emilie_lamoine_-_still_8

Eve Bitoun

Nevers_de_emilie_lamoine_-_still_9

Yves-Noël Genod

Nevers_de_emilie_lamoine_-_still_7

Sigrid Bouaziz et Florent Ruppert

Nevers_de_emilie_lamoine_-_still_6

Intentions

Originally, I wanted my first feature to be a French film, shot in France: by French, I meant rooted in the French space (the country, the landscape) and in France's zeitgeist (the present of France). What struck me then, was how immigration was less and less tolerated, how a foreigner was not allowed to move if he was not born there. This was the story I wanted to tell: the story of strangers, living here against the law. It was also a brand new desire to write and stage the feelings of my characters, by getting closer to them. I found this intimacy by depicting the alienation, or I should say, the unlove of a couple, as a slow weariness, rather than a clear cut break up. As a result, the exiles of my characters -both in space and in feelings- were able to resonate with each other. Justin and Almina are thriving for freedom but they cannot be free (the global reality of a "grounded" South), and, on a more granular scale, they want out of their couple (the intimate reality of a pair as an isolated island).

Nevers is a walkers' film -their trip is also a sentimental journey. How Justin and Almina relate to the word, how they inhabit and pass by, as illegals, is at the center of the mise en scene. This is the core of a film I meant to be raw and sharp.

Nevers_de_emilie_lamoine_-_still_3

Post-production

The film is now in psot production. The editing was made by the director, Emilie Lamoine, with the generous support of Johan Samacoits and the precious pieces of advice from Marie Robert. The sound editing is almost completed and was carried on subtely by Charlotte Butrak (La Fémis 2010). Lionel Fernandez and Erik Minnkinen recorded a hypnotic drone music, with fuzzy guitars. The conformation will be done by Guillaume Faure (we were impressed by his delicate work on Lou Ye's Spring Fever). Gilles Bernardeau, a seasonned professional, will mix the film.

Enregistrement_de_la_musique_de_nevers_-_lionel_fernandez

Soundtrack recording session with Lionel Fernandez.

The director

A video artist and a filmmaker, Emilie Lamoine was born in 1977. She is a graduate from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Arts de Paris-Cergy. Her films (short, middle-lenght and art videos) were picked by numerous festivals and broadcasted on television (France 3), exhibited in galleries and programmed by Pointligneplan et Jonas Mekas. Her blog : http://emilie-lamoine.tumblr.com/

Capture_d__cran_2013-02-04___08.51.43

FILMOGRAPHY

Romain dans le sable / Video art / 3 min. / 2013

Ceux de la dune / video art / 15 min. / 2010

JUVENTA / middle-length film / Aurora Films / 40 min. / 2008

Juventa

Le matin va venir / short-film / Aurora Films / 28 min. / 2006

Le_matin_va_venir

Sarahetclara / short film / 22 min. / 2004

A Bright Interval / short film / Suspiria Films / 12 min. / 2002

NEVERS, un film d'Emilie Lamoine