SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Meeting with Samir Guesmi and Frédéric Belier-Garcia

Screenings : monday 22 - 2:00 pm - Grand Théâtre - presented and followed by a debate with the film directors

running time: 1h48

Ibrahim

Samir Guesmi
2020 - France - Fiction - 1h20
With Abdel Bendaher, Samir Guesmi, Rabah Naït Oufella
Ibrahim's life is divided between his father, Ahmed, a shy, serious oyster shucker at the Royal Opera brasserie, and his friend from technical college, Achille, who older than him and a specialist in getting into trouble. It is precisely because of his stunts that Ahmed's dream of regaining his dignity is shattered when he has to pay the price for a robbery committed by his son that has gone wrong. Relationships are tense but Ibrahim decides to take all the risks he needs to make up for his mistake...
After training in drama, Samir Guesmi made his cinema debut in 1987 in Jaune revolver by Olivier Langlois. After a few small roles, he came to attention for his performance in Malik le maudit (Calamity Malik) by Youcef Hamidi, which earned him the Michel Simon prize and the acting award at the 1994 Amiens Festival. Alongside his career in film, he also distinguished himself in the theatre, notably in productions by Frédéric Bélier-Garcia and in the Éric Vigner production of Shakespeare's Othello at the Théâtre de l'Odéon. While never leaving stage productions, he has made many notable appearances in mainstream films (La Mentale by Manuel Boursinhac, Banlieue 13 by Pierre Morel, Ne le dis à personne (Tell No One) by Guillaume Canet...) as well as in auteur cinema (Betty Fisher et autres histoires (Alias Betty) by Claude Miller, L'Afrance by Alain Gomis, Selon Charlie by Nicole Garcia...). In 2007, Alain Gomis gave him his first major role in Andalucia. Nominated for a César for Best Supporting Actor in 2013 with Camille redouble (Camille Rewinds) by Noémie Lvovsky, he has continued working with leading auteurs (Nicole Garcia, Claude Miller, Julie Bertuccelli, Rachid Bouchareb, Bruno Podalydès, Sólveig Anspach, Arnaud Desplechin, Alain Gomis, Claire Simon, Michel Leclerc, Valérie Donzelli...). In recent years, he has also made a name for himself on television for his roles in the series Engrenages (Spiral) and Les Revenants (The Returned). In 2007, Samir Guesmi started directing with C'est dimanche !, his first short fiction film, which was successful in festivals. Ibrahim is his first feature film and received the Grand Jury Award at the Premiers Plans Film Festival in 2021.

Le Dogsitter (Maintenant que je suis un fantôme)

Frédéric Bélier-Garcia
2022 - France - Fiction - 28mn
With Samir Guesmi, Cyrille Mairesse, Anne-Lise Heimburger, Jean-Charles Clichet, Ophélia Kolb
Guy is a dog-sitter. In the evening of another day where he has once again proved to be a disappointed himself, as he is about to drop off his last dog, he is stopped by the sound of voices. At the height of an argument, the dog's owners declare a “minute's silence” to solemnly consecrate their separation. Frozen, in spite of himself, in the couple's kitchen, Guy goes through the day's events in his mind (which are also the events of his life) – and tries to find it the sign of destiny and hope.
After studying philosophy, Frédéric Bélier-Garcia moved into directing theatre plays and opera. He has produced works of several contemporary writers, from Gregory Motton to Ivan Viripaev or Marie NDiaye, whose first play, Hilda, he directed in 2002, winning the Syndicat de la Critique Award). He is also a scriptwriter, and has co- written with Nicole Garcia her films L'Adversaire (The Adversary), Selon Charlie (Charlie Says), Un balcon sur la mer (A View of Love), Mal de pierre (From the Land of the Moon). In 2021 he made his directing debut with a medium-length film entitled Le Dogsitter (Maintenant que je suis un fantôme) with Samir Guesmi in the lead role.