UnPur
by Eric Cherrière
Based on the novel by Isabelle Desesquelles
A lonely old man is murdered. His murderer, Benjamin Beaulieu, turns himself in. He has just killed the man who abducted him the summer he was eight. Twenty-five years later, Benjamin is on trial. What exactly happened during the five years he was the victim of his kidnapper? What kind of man has he become? In the course of the testimonies, we discover the story of a man who is going to reclaim the existence that was stolen from him.
Eric Cherrière
Born in 1974, Éric Cherrière has a degree in philosophy and is a graduate of ENSAV (Toulouse).
He began by making a series of short films, before turning to documentaries for France Télévision and STUDIOCANAL.
He is also a novelist and in 2010 he published JE NE VOUS AIME PAS, a harsh, melancholy first novel that established him as one of the new voices in French crime fiction (winner of the Prix de la Prison de la Santé). His 4th novel, MON COEUR RESTERA DE GLACE, was also shortlisted for several literary prizes (Prix du Polar européen Le Point and Prix Maison de la Presse).
His feature films
In 2016, he produced and directed CRUEL, his first feature film, released in cinemas in January 2017. The film was selected at festivals in Busan, Hong Kong, Sao-Paulo, Yerevan, Shanghai, Fantasia, Beaune (...) and was awarded the Grand-Prix at the Cognac Detective Film Festival.
A few extracts from the press reviews:
"Immersed in the mind of a madman, the film is a little gem."
- TECHNIKART
"A film noir that scratches with a razor's edge at the very depths of the human soul."
- LIBERATION
"This relentlessly directed first feature is chilling. It is served up by a cast of unknown actors, all of whom are remarkable."
- LE FIGARO
"It's both fascinating and revolting, and it's done with precision [ ...] No psychological explanations, no excuses, just the dark, grim reality of human nature."
- NOUVEL OBS
His second feature film, NI DIEUX NI MAITRES supported by Connectic Studio and De pure fiction, was selected for the Atelier de la Cinéfondation 2016 at the Cannes Film Festival. It was bought by Ran Entertainment, which produced it with Logical Pictures. Starring Saleh Bakri, Jenna Thiam, Pascal Greggory, Edith Scob , the film was presented at the Étrange Festival in autumn 2019.
