LES MISÉRABLES
Filmfest 2019
France 2019
Original version with English subtitles
(Original: French)
German Premiere
Director: Ladj Ly
Section: Spotlight
Stéphane recently joined the crime-fighting squad in Montfermeil, a suburb of Paris. Alongside his new colleagues Chris and Gwada, both experienced members of the team, he quickly discovers tensions running high between neighborhood gangs. When they find themselves overrun during the course of an arrest, a drone captures their every movement, their every action. Inspired by the riots of 2005, César nominee and Kourtrajmé* collective member Ladj Ly explores contemporary Montfermeil, the place where Victor Hugo chose to set "Les Misérables" in 1862. More than 150 years later, the similarities between today’s angry, hoodie-wearing youth and Gavroche are only too clear.
Cast: Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djebril Zonga, Issa Perica, Al-Hassan Ly
Credits
Screenplay: Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini
Director of Photography: Julien Poupard
Film Editor: Flora Volpelière
Composer: Pink Noise
Production Designer: Karim Lagati
Costume Design: Marine Galliano
Sound: Arnaud Lavaleix
Producer: Toufik Ayadi, Christophe Barral
Production Company: SRAB Films
Distributor: Wild Bunch Germany GmbH, Alamode Filmdistribution oHG
Director: Ladj Ly
biography
Born in 1980, Ladj Li grew up in the Paris suburb of Montfermeil. His first feature-length film, LES MISÉRABLES, based on his short film of the same title (2017), immediately earned him a spot in competition in Cannes, where he received the Jury Prize. Previously he had made CRONIQUES DE CLICHY-MONTFERMEIL (2017), a documentary about his neighborhood. Ladj Li is a member of the artists' collective Kourtrajmé*, which recently founded its own film school in order to train young filmmakers.
