Nothing attaches Cyrille Benvenuto to Loir-et-Cher, even less to Sargé-sur-Braye. However, three years ago now, it was there that he settled for six weeks, from July to October 2021, with the objective of shooting a feature film. “I wanted greenerypoints out the director. And by chance a friend was renovating a house in Sargé. He asked me for a helping hand, and I was immediately attached to the village. »
Contacts always present
with the village
For almost two months, he invested the town with his equipment and the film crew. A group “voluntarily reduced because I wanted everyone to be in the same place and live together to serve the film”, explains Cyrille Benvenuto. All these little people work every day from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. to tell the story of a fifty-year-old who is depressed after the death of his parents.
In this context, the director and his team enjoy Sargé and build relationships with the locals over the days of filming. Something is being created. “The town hall was great, the neighborhood was lovely, it allowed us to work in good conditionsremembers Cyrille Benvenuto. It was a great human adventure. » Three years later, contacts remain established with Loir-et-Cher. “I am still in contact with people from Sargéhe says. When I come back, it’s a real pleasure to find this special village and these adorable people. »
Every day during these six weeks, the cast sat down to best tell this story of a man going through a difficult time who quickly understands that he is not the only one facing depression. A story that Cyrille Benvenuto also knows. He sinks into “episodic depression in 2017”. For three years he spent “whole days without energy, full of neuroleptics, with suicidal thoughts because life no longer had any meaning”he says today.
Debate following the film
During this dark passage in his life, he begins to develop a synopsis inspired by his story “but in a very romanticized way”, points out the director who, to be as truthful as possible, put on the actor’s costume. In this film, titled Chrysanthemum, “I wanted to be poignant and make the audience ask questions about depression”.
Questions will be possible to ask on Friday June 28, 2024. Chrysanthemum will be screened at the Majestic, in Vendôme, at 8 p.m. Cyrille Benvenuto will be present alongside other actors from the film to participate in the debate.
