IT'S A WRAP FOR "LES AFFAIRES REPRENNENT"
The shooting for French-Belgian-Polish co-production “Les affaires reprennent” (previously “Grand froid”) has come to an end. The international crew has spent 23 days on the set in Bieszczady, in the Podkarpacie region, and in Krakow.
“Les affaires reprennent”
“Les affaires reprennent” is a full-length debut of French director Gérard Pautonnier. The script based on book “Edmond Ganglion & Fils” by Joël Egloff was written by the director and the author of the novel. The cast includes: Jean-Pierre Bacri (“The Taste of Others”, “Look at Me”, “Under the Rainbow”); Olivier Gourmet (“The Promise”, “The Son”); and Arthur Dupond (“Bus Palladium”).
In a small, deserted town, in the middle of a cold winter, Edmond Zweck’s funeral home is on the verge of bankruptcy due to lack of customers. The company has only two employees left – Georges, who is Zweck’s right-hand man, and Eddie, a young assistant who is still learning the ropes. One morning, a surprising event brings hope back to Edmond – customers with a corpse arrive at his funeral home. Georges and Eddie are to conduct the funeral procession and bring the deceased to the place of his final rest. However, when the hearse gets lost on the way, and finding the graveyard turns out to be impossible, the journey changes into an unexpected nightmare which could even bring the dead back to life.
French-Belgian-Polish Co-Production
The film is a French-Belgian-Polish co-production; the leading producers are Denis Carot and Marie Masmonteil from Elzévir Films (France); the co-producers are Edyta Janczak-Hiriart and Karolina Mróz-Couchard from Lava Films (Poland), and Gaetan David and André Logie from Panache Productions et La Compagnie Cinématographique (Belgium). The crew participating in the shooting was also of French, Belgian and Polish origin.
Shooting in Krakow and Podkarpacie
The “Les affaires reprennent” project was located in Poland partly due to the location offer prepared by Film Commission Poland. The shooting took place in Podkarpacie, a region in south-east Poland which attracts more and more filmmakers – recently the HBO series “The Pack” and Polish thriller “Na granicy” were shot there. The set was also located in Krakow, the city which recently hosted Jim Carrey and Charlotte Gainsborough (“True Crimes”) and Rachel Weisz and Tom Wilkinson (“Denial”). The producers were looking for particular, secluded landscapes and have found perfect locations in Podkarpacie, near Rymanow, and Solina, in Ustrzyki Gorne and Sanok. Similarly in Krakow, mainly residential areas were used as locations, avoiding the famous and very often portrayed in cinema Market Square.
The producer Denis Carot summarises several weeks spent in Poland, “Co-producing “Les affaires reprennent” with Lava Films was a great experience. We could establish a very confident relationship from the beginning. They were very trustful partners and totally involved in their role of co-producer as well as line producer. The organization was perfect; we had a very qualified, professional and hard working crew all along the way. The integration between the different nationalities participating in the film was easy. We were able to shoot in all the locations we scouted and could explore the beautiful and wide landscapes of Poland, especially Podkarpacie and then Krakow”.
Co-Production Supported by the Polish Film Institute
Last year “Les affaires reprennent” won the first edition of the competition organized as part of the Krakow International Film Fund. The fund, established by Krakow Festival Office, is a new instrument aimed at attracting foreign productions and was established to make Krakow more competitive. The film also received support from the Polish Film Institute. International sale is handled by TF1 International. The premiere is expected for spring 2017.
Press release