new wave films
A Season in France (DVD/Download)
A film by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Synopsis
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s soul-searching film focuses on the plight of undocumented asylum seekers desperately trying to find sanctuary in Europe.
Abbas (Eriq Ebouaney), a college professor and father of two, seeks political asylum in France after fleeing the civil war that has raged in the Central African Republic since 2013. Widowed when his wife died in attempting to escape the country with him, he has since met Carole (Sandrine Bonnaire), who consoles him in his anguish at the French immigration system. Two years of waiting finally elicit a response from the authorities. Everything he holds dear, including his hopes for both his future and those of his children, lie in their decision. Ebouaney and Bonnaire both give compelling performances, while Haroun masterfully contrasts the intimacy of human relationships with the cold bureaucracy of a vast, impersonal system.
Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and London Film Festival in 2017.
France 2017, 100 mins, cert 12A
Trailer
Director — Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Born in Chad, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun moved to France where he studied film and worked as a journalist.
In 1999 he directed Bye-Bye Africa, winning the Best Debut Film prize in Venice. His second feature, Our Father(2002), was selected at the Directors’ Fortnight. In 2006 he was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival for Dry Season, while the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York presented a retrospective exhibition of his work. In 2010 A Screaming Man picked up the Jury Prize in Cannes. That same year, Haroun received the Robert Bresson Award at the Venice Film Festival, as well as the Humanity Prize at the 34th Mostra in São Paulo, Brazil.
In 2013 he was once again in Competition at Cannes with Grigris. He also received the UNESCO Fellini Medal 2013.
Filmography
1999: BYE BYE AFRICA
2002: OUR FATHER
2006: DRY SEASON (Daratt)
2010: A SCREAMING MAN (Jury Prize in Cannes)
2013: GRIGRIS (Cannes competition)
2016: HISSEIN HABRE, A CHADIAN TRAGEDY (Special Screenings Cannes)
2017: A SEASON IN FRANCE (Une Saison en France)
Cast & Credits
|
CAST |
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ABBAS |
Eriq EBOUANEY |
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CAROLE |
Sandrine BONNAIRE |
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ASMA |
Aalayna LYS |
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YACINE |
Ibrahim BURAMA DARBOE |
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ÉTIENNE |
Bibi TANGA |
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MARTINE |
Léonie SIMAGA |
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RÉGINE |
Régine CONAS |
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THAMMA |
Khampha THAMMAVONGSA |
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POLICEMAN 1 |
Stéphane MALASSENET |
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POLICEMAN 2 |
Nathan DELLEMME |
|
MAN IN THE CEMETERY |
Marius YELOLO |
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MADELEINE |
Sandra NKAKE |
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CREW |
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|
Director |
Mahamat-Saleh HAROUN |
|
Script |
Mahamat-Saleh HAROUN |
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Director of photography |
Mathieu GIOMBINI |
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1st Assistant Director |
François CHAILLOU |
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Production Designer |
Éric BARBOZA |
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Costume Designer |
Agnès NODEN |
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Sound |
Dana FARZANEHPOUR |
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Editor |
Jean-François ÉLIE |
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Original Score |
Wasis DIOP |
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Script Supervisor |
Olivia BRUYNOGHE |
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Production Manager |
Marianne GERMAIN |
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Location Manager |
Carmen LIMA |
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Casting Director |
Gigi AKOKA |
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Producer |
Florence STERN - Pili Films |
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Coproduction |
Arte France Cinéma |
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France 2017 |
|
|
100 minutes |
|
| Cert 12A |
Images
Click any still to enlarge
The Critics
★★★★
‘A deeply felt, compassionate film about refugees who find that one of their bitterest abasements is the loss of dignity and status.’
‘The habitual calm and gentleness of Mahamat Saleh Haroun’s film-making here has a sharp edge and an overtly political point – as well as a flourish of violent destruction and despair that blindsided me.’
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
★★★★
'It’s a compassionate and observant film that’s deceptively quiet, but beneath the surface it rages.'
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
‘The film builds toward an explicit condemnation of Europe's handling of the refugee crisis, encouraging the viewer's fury at the family's forced circumstances’.
Aisha Harris, New York Times
‘Warm and subtly heartbreaking, offering a moving vision of life for those stuck in legal and emotional limbo.’
Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
‘This sombre, compassionate film speaks with a simple eloquence about a humanity that we seem on the verge of losing.’
Tom Charity, Sight and Sound
Links
Download Pressbook
Download Quad poster high res jpg
Download International Pressbook
Download Photo set
Trailer on Vimeo - link or download as mp4
Download Full-size .mov file of trailer
Download 1 minute trailer for social media
Clip 1 - link or download from Vimeo, link or embed from YouTube
Clip 2 - link or download from Vimeo, link or embed from YouTube
Bookings & Press
For film bookings please contact Colin Burch at Verve Pictures — [email protected]. Press resources are on the Press page.