The 27-year-old young man, a former fencer, specialized in the manufacture and rental of weapons for cinema, theater and television. From his workshop in Carquefou, he offers a wide choice of historical and modern weapons, while guaranteeing safety and authenticity. Collaborating on major film shoots and shows, he brings his technical and historical expertise to productions.
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Originally from the Bordeaux region, Adrien Garcia moved to Nantes to complete his agri-food engineering studies. But it was his love of fencing that pushed him to venture down a completely different path.
From the age of 7, he discovered Olympic and then artistic fencing and trained alongside great masters like Claude Carriez, a specialist in choreographed cinema fights. “At a very young age, I was already fascinated by knights and musketeers“.
At the age of 15, after carrying out a small investigation into duraluminium swords used for show fights, he began crafting weapons. “I wanted to buy swords for my personal use, but the gunsmiths refused to sell them to me. So, with my father, we decided to make some ourselves.”
Supported by the latter, a former factory worker, he produced a first series of swords which sold quickly among his stunt contacts. One thing led to another, the productions asked him if it was possible to rent his equipment: “Before me, there were only two gunsmiths in France. Today, I am the only one in the region, and professionals regularly turn to us.”
Adrien Garcia designing a weapon in his Carquefou workshop
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© Adrien Garcia
To stand out from the Parisian gunsmiths, Adrien innovated by filing a patent on the fixing of the blades of his swords, enriched with aluminum and titanium: “We are the only ones in the world to do this“, proudly affirms the young entrepreneur. His workshop, based in Carquefou, today offers more than 600 bladed weapons for rental, from Antiquity to katanas, as well as 350 firearms.
The firearms used on film sets are real weapons, modified to fire only blank ammunition. Adrien and his team scrupulously ensure safety: “There’s no way there’s real ammunition on the board. Our weapons always leave with a gunsmith to guarantee the safety of the actors.“
In Adrien Garcia’s workshop, there are more than 350 firearms, including Napoleonic rifles here.
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© Adrien Garcia
In 2025, Adrien Garcia will celebrate the tenth anniversary of his company. Since its creation, he has collaborated on numerous prestigious projects, such as the films “Napoléon”, “The Animal Kingdom”, and the traveling show, “Raconte-moi la France”.
-The latter, which promises to be “the largest traveling live show in the history of France“, will alone mobilize 80 firearms and 5,000 cartridges.”It is an immense pride to be able to work on this type of titanic project.“, he rejoices.
To meet the growing demand for filming in the region, Adrien has set up a secure weapons delivery service, capable of operating in less than 24 hours: “This allows us to deploy our resources throughout France.”
This responsiveness allows him to collaborate on period films ranging from the Merovingians to the Second World War, but also on operatic shows such as “Carmen” or “The Marriage of Figaro”.
In Carquefou, in his workshop, Adrien Garcia must respond to growing demand
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© Adrien Garcia
In addition to the design and rental of weapons, Adrien’s team plays a historical advisory role to directors.
Each project is the subject of a study to guarantee perfect consistency of the accessories with the period represented: “We have extensive documentation and work with historical advisors, such as Michel Pétard, a specialist in weapons from all periods.“
For certain projects, the workshop even manufactures identical replicas of historical weapons, such as those which will be used in a future project dedicated to Louis XIV. “We remain an accessory, so we are often called upon at the last moment, but we always find solutions“, explains Adrien.
Swords and pistols used for the filming of a period film
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© Adrien Garcia
Despite a small team made up of three permanent staff and temporary workers recruited according to needs, Adrien Garcia manages to successfully meet each challenge.
“We don’t count our hours. You have to do this out of passion“, he concludes. A passion which will be found on the screens and stages in 2025 with major projects, such as the film “All for one”, inspired by the Three Musketeers in the female version.
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