A French science fiction thriller with Emilie Dequenne: “It really resonates a lot with my personal life” – Actus Ciné

Thirteen years after the thriller Nuit blanche with Tomer Sisley, and after the Engrenages series, French director Frédéric Jardin returns to cinema with the science fiction film Survivre.

In this feature film prohibited for children under 12, a catastrophe shakes the planet: the Earth’s magnetic poles have reversed. The oceans wiped out the continents, leaving behind a vast desert. In this ravaged world, a family must fight for survival. When the poles reverse again, it will be too late.

Written by Matt Alexander – pseudonym behind which hides the duo Matthieu Le Naour and Alexandre Coquelle to whom he owes numerous comedies (Les Gorilles, Divorce Club, BDE) – the film is directed by Emilie Dequenne, Andreas Pietschmann, famous for the Netflix series Dark and 1899, Lisa Delamar, Lucas Elbel and Arben Bajraktaraj. Surviver marks the director’s return to cinema but also that of Emilie Dequenne in front of the camera.

In August 2023, the Belgian actress, awarded at Cannes in 1999 for Rosetta, announced that she was suffering from a rare cancer. Although the feature film was shot before her illness was discovered, the actress underwent surgery and was able to promote Survive. She is gradually returning to the sets and has recently filmed an episode of Captain Marleau.

A character closer to Emilie Dequenne

At our microphone, Emilie Dequenne tells us about the parallels between what she experienced and her character as a fighting mother, ready to do anything to save her children.

“At the time of filming Survive I didn’t know I was sick. But today, the message at the end of the film particularly resonates with me. You have to stay in the room until the credits roll, you don’t have to leave too quickly because there’s a voice, and it really resonates a lot with my personal life. I recorded this voice before I was sick and before I knew it. But obviously, now, I say to myself: This girl who fights against crabs to survive, it’s still crazy…

It really resonates a lot with my personal life

In the film, of course it’s more than that. She fights for her survival, but above all to protect her children. Despite the apocalyptic version of the world, she doesn’t give up. She doesn’t know what to expect, but she’s going to protect her children.”

Director Frédéric Jardin explains in the press kit that he had wanted to work with the actress for several years. “I’ve wanted to work with Émilie for a long time. After Nuit blanche, the extreme experience of a father who must save his son, I wanted to live the extreme experience of a mother and I immediately imagined Émilie in the role – she is a totally true, authentic actress, who gives everything, who can go to extreme zones but at the same time allows you to identify with her easily. I was delighted that she accepted the role.

Many French actresses say they dream of shooting a genre film, but are often afraid to commit when they are offered a project. Émilie was at full speed, without any particular training; Above all, she was in the same state of mind as Julia, this mother who must tirelessly bounce back, as best she can, to become a warrior in spite of herself.”

Why did Emilie Dequenne hesitate before accepting the role?

This is the first science fiction film in the career of the actress who is therefore a big fan of genre films. Emilie Dequenne nevertheless admits to having hesitated to accept the role: “I loved the script, but I was scared at the beginning. I said to myself: But it’s not for me, because I imagined an American heroine, a bit like Tomb Raider, which is not It’s totally not me. I said to myself: They’re wrong. They need a tall, muscular blonde, beautiful as a model. I wondered: “What are they going to do with me?” I said to myself: We’re talking about a mother who will protect her children against all odds, and that’s me, too. And ultimately, this family believes in it.

Plus I’m a genre film freak, really a genre film freak. This is my cinematic education. We went to the video store a lot and rented genre films when I was a kid. The first genre film I saw was Claws of Night, but then I saw all the Romeros, the Wes Cravens, the adaptations of Stephen King, The Exorcist, Simetierre… I love it! And there, Frédéric Jardin, offers us something that is survivalist, realistic and dystopian. And that’s really a genre that I like. So I wanted to be there.”

The whole film was a challenge for me.

And to play this mother who crosses the dry seabed and faces the worst dangers in order to shelter her children, the actress had to undergo intensive training. “The whole film was a challenge for me. I was physically prepared. I’m really not a big athlete but I prepared myself every day, with my coach or by going to the pool to swim. Little by little I realized that I was finally credible in the role of this mother.” she adds to our microphone.

Where was the film shot?

In Survive, the Earth’s magnetic poles have reversed. The sea has retreated onto the land and the seabed is exposed, revealing the great underwater pollution, the contents of capsized cargo ships, plastic… And the desert landscapes of the seabed have been found in Morocco .

Frédéric Jardin explains in the press kit: “The third part of the film, that of the chase, was entirely filmed on real locations, in Boumalne-Dadès. It’s a magnificent place, very wild, where, to my knowledge, no one had yet filmed. Upstream, we had done meticulous scouting work to make credible the gorges, canyons and the final fault, supposed to be the seabed from which the sea retreated. The actors were not dubbed and did everything themselves, including the two young actors who sometimes walked very steep areas. We didn’t cheat, that was the whole spirit of this shoot.“

Concerning the marine scenes, the team also filmed in Morocco and used artisanal tricks. The filmmaker explains:At first, we wondered how to shoot the scenes on the boat. I didn’t want to do it in the studio, it was unthinkable. We actually filmed on a boat, off the coast of Morocco, near the Algerian border, where the sea is very blue and can evoke that of the Caribbean. The swell was very strong, the team was sick, not to mention the jellyfish: it was sometimes quite incredible!

For the storm scene, when the ocean recedes, I was as close as possible to the actors so that we felt this experience from their point of view, which also fit with the economic logic of our film . Logistically, the boat was secured to a platform and stagehands shook it in all directions, in an artisanal manner, just like in the days of the birth of cinema, without the use of hydraulic pistons in the studio! The feeling was still powerful.”

Unlike American blockbusters, Survive is a French genre film with a budget of 5 million euros, so we had to find tricks to create a storm that was larger than life. And the result is stunning.

Emilie Dequenne adds to our microphone: “It’s difficult to make a genre film with the budgets we have. It may seem crazy to say that 5 million euros is a small budget. Who wouldn’t like to have 5 million euros? But for a genre film, it’s really not much And yet we succeeded! We already had a wonderful Franco-Moroccan team, crazy settings in Morocco. “Atmosphere. I find it sensational, despite the means. We are on board with this woman and we want to survive with her.”

Survive can be discovered this Wednesday, June 19 at the cinema.