After making them cinema “stars”, François Ruffin reunites with the footballers of Flixecourt

See my news
Follow Le Journal d’Abbeville

Eight years after Merci boss, which earned him the César for best documentary, MP François Ruffin signed one of the most noted documentaries in 2024: At work!, a documentary comedy that he partly filmed in the Somme.

In this “documentary comedy”, François Ruffin convinced Sarah Saldmann, a TV columnist accustomed to scathing comments against the unemployed and “small workers”, to share the daily life of Smicards.

Several scenes from the film filmed in the Somme

Several scenes from the film were filmed in the Somme. With volunteers from Secours Populaire d’Abbeville, at the Ad’Hoc Café restaurant in Amiens, on the beach at Fort-Mahon… and at the Flixecourt stadium.

There, the deputy director took the very chic, very Parisian and very right-wing lawyer Sarah Saldmann through a joyful training session for the women’s team of the local football club.

A few weeks after the success of the film, François Ruffin and his co-director Gilles Perret (to whom we also owe La Ferme des Bertrand, another successful 2024 documentary) were back in Flixecourt, for a free screening of their film.

A very chic and very Parisian lawyer in the footballers’ locker rooms

The Sporting Club de Flixecourt was also at the origin of this free screening, which allowed the directors to find the footballers they filmed during a particularly joyful scene.

Coach of the women’s team during filming, Angélique Pruvot gives her reaction to this new experience for her.

We had a few preconceptions, then the good-natured atmosphere reassured us.

This good memory of filming is shared by François Ruffin: “It was very pleasant to collaborate with the women of Flixecourt. They played along without ever complaining,” he says.

Returning to this sequence which breaks with the rest of the film, devoted to the exercise of difficult professions, François Ruffin explains…

This sequence in the film shows a real popular atmosphere which contrasts with certain Parisian districts in particular.

Good promotion for women and sports practice

“It’s also a good promotion for women and sports practice,” adds Angélique Pruvot. In addition, the film is moving, because we see different professions and in particular the place of women in the professional environment. »

Far from the miserabilism too often portrayed by the Parisian media, the deputy filmmaker and his co-director Gilles Perret have created a deeply human film, both poignant and very funny, from which we emerge as euphoric as it is revolted.

Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.