Rolling off their partnership on Studiocanal’s “‘Mayhem!” (“Farang”) and Netflix hit movie “Watch Under Paris,” popular genre filmmaker Xavier Gens (“Gangs of London”) is joining forces with Vincent Roget and Eric Lavaine’s banner Sameplayer to launch a new production company.
Named Good Players, the Paris-based company will aim at developing and producing action, thriller, aventure, fantasy and horror movies that have an international appeal. The inaugural slate of projects includes “Les Opposums,” directed by Eva Munoz (“Hannya”); “Drive” by Abel Danan; “C’est pas nous les diables” by Meryl Estragnat (“Promenons-nous”), and “Ferris Wheel” by Julien Hosmalin (“Magic World”). These projects will enter production between this year’s second half and end of 2025.
Gens, who is based in Paris, is also currently developing with Netflix “Malin Fors,” a gritty series based on Mons Kallentoft’s Scandinavian novels. Gens, who will produce via Good Players and direct, said the...
Named Good Players, the Paris-based company will aim at developing and producing action, thriller, aventure, fantasy and horror movies that have an international appeal. The inaugural slate of projects includes “Les Opposums,” directed by Eva Munoz (“Hannya”); “Drive” by Abel Danan; “C’est pas nous les diables” by Meryl Estragnat (“Promenons-nous”), and “Ferris Wheel” by Julien Hosmalin (“Magic World”). These projects will enter production between this year’s second half and end of 2025.
Gens, who is based in Paris, is also currently developing with Netflix “Malin Fors,” a gritty series based on Mons Kallentoft’s Scandinavian novels. Gens, who will produce via Good Players and direct, said the...
- 5/21/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Countless shark attack horror movies have flooded the market since Steven Spielberg changed the game with Jaws back in the 1970s, but the reality is that most of them aren’t very good. For every quality shark attack movie like Deep Blue Sea or The Shallows, there are about 100 imitators that have only really served to devalue the entire subgenre in their wake.
But every so often, we get a good one. And Netflix may have one of those on their hands with Under Paris, a shark attack horror movie from French filmmaker Xavier Gens.
Fresh off the just-released action movie Mayhem!, Xavier Gens (Frontiers, Cold Skin) is back this June with Under Paris, and Netflix has unleashed the official trailer this week.
Following in the grand tradition of Jaws, a celebration turns into a PR nightmare when a hungry shark comes to Paris. One shark. A whole lot of tasty humans.
But every so often, we get a good one. And Netflix may have one of those on their hands with Under Paris, a shark attack horror movie from French filmmaker Xavier Gens.
Fresh off the just-released action movie Mayhem!, Xavier Gens (Frontiers, Cold Skin) is back this June with Under Paris, and Netflix has unleashed the official trailer this week.
Following in the grand tradition of Jaws, a celebration turns into a PR nightmare when a hungry shark comes to Paris. One shark. A whole lot of tasty humans.
- 4/9/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
French filmmaker Xavier Gens has directed a shark thriller titled Under Paris for Netflix. Check out the film’s first trailer above.
Set in the near future, in the summer of 2024, Paris is hosting the World Triathlon Championships on the Seine for the first time. Sophia, a brilliant scientist, learns from Mika, a young environmental activist, that a large shark is swimming deep in the river. To avoid a bloodbath at the heart of the city, they have no choice but to join forces with Adil, the Seine River police commander.
In the first trailer, you can see French authorities attempting to find a way to capture the unwieldy shark, which is terrorizing the River Seine.
The film stars Bérénice Bejo, Nassim Lyes, Léa Léviant, Iñaki Lartigue and José Antonio Pedrosa Moreno. Filmmaker Gens previously worked with the streamer on the popular Lupin series, starring Omar Sy. His other credits...
Set in the near future, in the summer of 2024, Paris is hosting the World Triathlon Championships on the Seine for the first time. Sophia, a brilliant scientist, learns from Mika, a young environmental activist, that a large shark is swimming deep in the river. To avoid a bloodbath at the heart of the city, they have no choice but to join forces with Adil, the Seine River police commander.
In the first trailer, you can see French authorities attempting to find a way to capture the unwieldy shark, which is terrorizing the River Seine.
The film stars Bérénice Bejo, Nassim Lyes, Léa Léviant, Iñaki Lartigue and José Antonio Pedrosa Moreno. Filmmaker Gens previously worked with the streamer on the popular Lupin series, starring Omar Sy. His other credits...
- 4/9/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
StudioCanal is teaming up with French production outfit WTFilms on a slate of European genre films.
The agreement will see StudioCanal and WTFilms collaborate in the development, production and distribution of action, thriller, science fiction and horror movie over a period of at least two years.
StudioCanal will act as a co-producer and distributor for WTFilms projects selected during that time.
The new collobration sprang from StudioCanal’s successful partnership with WTFilms on Xavier Gens’ action thriller Mayhem!, which was a fantasy festivals hit last year and was picked up by IFC Films for the U.S.
“The success of Mayhem! reinforced our choice to focus our production projects on genre, ranging from action to thriller and horror,” said WTFilms co-founders Dimitri Stephanides and Gregory Chambet. “Since its beginning, the DNA of WTFilms has been closely linked to our personal taste for this cinema. Today, we are very enthusiastic about...
The agreement will see StudioCanal and WTFilms collaborate in the development, production and distribution of action, thriller, science fiction and horror movie over a period of at least two years.
StudioCanal will act as a co-producer and distributor for WTFilms projects selected during that time.
The new collobration sprang from StudioCanal’s successful partnership with WTFilms on Xavier Gens’ action thriller Mayhem!, which was a fantasy festivals hit last year and was picked up by IFC Films for the U.S.
“The success of Mayhem! reinforced our choice to focus our production projects on genre, ranging from action to thriller and horror,” said WTFilms co-founders Dimitri Stephanides and Gregory Chambet. “Since its beginning, the DNA of WTFilms has been closely linked to our personal taste for this cinema. Today, we are very enthusiastic about...
- 3/18/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Studiocanal has secured a partnership with French production company WTFilms (What The Films) that will focus on genre films with the development, production and distribution of both French-language titles and wider European-language content with global appeal.
The agreement speaks to Studiocanal’s growing ambition to increase its footprint in the genre space, following UK-based former acquisitions, development and production executive Jed Benedict’s return to Studiocanal to launch a genre label.
Studiocanal’s French production team will work together with Benedict on the WTFilms partnership and development slate.
The partnership, signed at the end of February, comes off the back...
The agreement speaks to Studiocanal’s growing ambition to increase its footprint in the genre space, following UK-based former acquisitions, development and production executive Jed Benedict’s return to Studiocanal to launch a genre label.
Studiocanal’s French production team will work together with Benedict on the WTFilms partnership and development slate.
The partnership, signed at the end of February, comes off the back...
- 3/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
Studiocanal has announced a partnership with French production and sales company WTFilms (What The Films).
The collaboration will focus on genre films to produce and distribute French language and European content with global appeal.
The partnership is a further sign of Studiocanal’s desire to increase its presence in the genre space and follows the recent announcement of Jed Benedict’s return to the company to run a new genre label.
The French production team at Studiocanal will work together with Benedict on the WTFilms partnership and development slate.
The agreement was signed at the end of February 2024 follows a successful collaboration on Xavier Gens’ 2023 action movie Farang.
The France and Thailand-set picture, which Deadline spotlighted as a Global Breakout last summer, stars actor and former kickbox champion Nassim Lyes plays Sam as a prisoner forced on the run when his past violently catches up with him.
The production combined...
The collaboration will focus on genre films to produce and distribute French language and European content with global appeal.
The partnership is a further sign of Studiocanal’s desire to increase its presence in the genre space and follows the recent announcement of Jed Benedict’s return to the company to run a new genre label.
The French production team at Studiocanal will work together with Benedict on the WTFilms partnership and development slate.
The agreement was signed at the end of February 2024 follows a successful collaboration on Xavier Gens’ 2023 action movie Farang.
The France and Thailand-set picture, which Deadline spotlighted as a Global Breakout last summer, stars actor and former kickbox champion Nassim Lyes plays Sam as a prisoner forced on the run when his past violently catches up with him.
The production combined...
- 3/18/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Fresh off the just-released action movie Mayhem!, French filmmaker Xavier Gens (Frontiers, Cold Skin) will soon return with the shark attack movie Under Paris for Netflix.
Under Paris is said to be an “ambitious elevated genre film,” and it seems it’ll be swimming its way onto Netflix sometime this summer. You’ll find the film’s French poster art below.
Variety details, “Set in Summer 2024, the film unfolds in Paris which is hosting the World Triathlon Championships on the Seine for the first time. Sophia, a brilliant scientist, learns from Mika, a young environmental activist, that a large shark is swimming deep in the river.
“To avoid a bloodbath at the heart of the city, they have no choice but to join forces with Adil, the Seine river police commander.”
Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) and Nassim Lyes (Overdose) star.
Stay tuned for more information on Netflix’s Under Paris as we learn it.
Under Paris is said to be an “ambitious elevated genre film,” and it seems it’ll be swimming its way onto Netflix sometime this summer. You’ll find the film’s French poster art below.
Variety details, “Set in Summer 2024, the film unfolds in Paris which is hosting the World Triathlon Championships on the Seine for the first time. Sophia, a brilliant scientist, learns from Mika, a young environmental activist, that a large shark is swimming deep in the river.
“To avoid a bloodbath at the heart of the city, they have no choice but to join forces with Adil, the Seine river police commander.”
Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) and Nassim Lyes (Overdose) star.
Stay tuned for more information on Netflix’s Under Paris as we learn it.
- 1/12/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
French kickboxing champ and action film star Nassim Lyes said he performed the majority of the stunts in his new action thriller, Mayhem, in his new uInterview.
In a conversation with uInterview founder Erik Meers, Lyes opened up about his experience on the set of Mayhem! as an actor with a real-life background in kickboxing. Lyes revealed that he did approximately 95% of his stunts in the movie, of which many were real.
Lyes stated that almost all of the body shots that took place in the film were real. However, Lyes confessed that he quickly regretted the decision to appeal to such authenticity, as his second fight in the movie was against a former Thai champion, whom Lyes was scared would break his ribs.
Despite his heavy involvement in the stunts, Lyes gave a shout-out to his body double, as his boxing background sometimes made it “hard to not hit for real.
In a conversation with uInterview founder Erik Meers, Lyes opened up about his experience on the set of Mayhem! as an actor with a real-life background in kickboxing. Lyes revealed that he did approximately 95% of his stunts in the movie, of which many were real.
Lyes stated that almost all of the body shots that took place in the film were real. However, Lyes confessed that he quickly regretted the decision to appeal to such authenticity, as his second fight in the movie was against a former Thai champion, whom Lyes was scared would break his ribs.
Despite his heavy involvement in the stunts, Lyes gave a shout-out to his body double, as his boxing background sometimes made it “hard to not hit for real.
- 1/12/2024
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
Searchlight Pictures’ Poor Things rounded out the top ten this weekend and American Fiction from Amazon MGM Studios continued its slow burn with both films in the running for big awards at the Golden Globes tonight.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things starring Emma Stone grossed $2 million in week five on 750 screens for a cume of $14.2 million.
Poor Things has a raft of Globe noms for Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Director and Original Score and acting noms for Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo.
America Fiction by Cord Jefferson had a $1M+ weekend on 114 screens (up from 40) for a cume of $2.98 million. The film starring Jeffrey Wright is in week four, the latest this season to find success in a slow platform release. It’s up for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Male Actor for Wright.
The numbers show “positive word-of-mouth is percolating,” said Amazon MGM’s theatrical distribution chief Kevin Wilson,...
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things starring Emma Stone grossed $2 million in week five on 750 screens for a cume of $14.2 million.
Poor Things has a raft of Globe noms for Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Director and Original Score and acting noms for Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo.
America Fiction by Cord Jefferson had a $1M+ weekend on 114 screens (up from 40) for a cume of $2.98 million. The film starring Jeffrey Wright is in week four, the latest this season to find success in a slow platform release. It’s up for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Male Actor for Wright.
The numbers show “positive word-of-mouth is percolating,” said Amazon MGM’s theatrical distribution chief Kevin Wilson,...
- 1/7/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Welcome to an exploration of Nassim Lyes’ journey through his role in the TV series ‘Mayhem!’ As we delve into the significance of this part in his career, let’s start by introducing Nassim Lyes. A former national champion kickboxer and now a prominent figure in the acting world, Lyes has taken on a character that has resonated deeply with audiences and marked a pivotal point in his career. From Kickboxing Rings to the Acting Scene Prior to joining the cast of ‘Mayhem!’, Nassim Lyes had already established himself as a formidable presence. Known for his physical prowess and dynamic performances,...
- 1/7/2024
- by Steve Delikson
- TVovermind.com
It’s quiet for specialty openings after the holidays, in the thick of awards season. But one film needed this weekend — Abramorama documentary A Storm Foretold by Danish director Christoffer Guldbrandsen about the Maga movement and the Jan. 6 insurrection. The filmmaker captured footage over years of on-and-off access to Roger Stone.
It’s booked for over 20 rolling playdates in the next two weeks so far including the Quad Cinema in New York where Guldbrandsen will be holding Q&As all weekend.
Stone was former president Donald Trump’s closest political confidante and the film spans several years through Jan. 6, 2021. As Congress gathered that day to approve the election and declare Joe Biden the winner, less than a mile away, Donald Trump was urging a crowd to march towards the Capitol. Hours later, five people were killed and 141 wounded. With Stone as its central character, A Storm Foretold sees the storming...
It’s booked for over 20 rolling playdates in the next two weeks so far including the Quad Cinema in New York where Guldbrandsen will be holding Q&As all weekend.
Stone was former president Donald Trump’s closest political confidante and the film spans several years through Jan. 6, 2021. As Congress gathered that day to approve the election and declare Joe Biden the winner, less than a mile away, Donald Trump was urging a crowd to march towards the Capitol. Hours later, five people were killed and 141 wounded. With Stone as its central character, A Storm Foretold sees the storming...
- 1/5/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Mayhem!’ Review: Nassim Lyes Stars In A Revenge Thriller That Gives ‘John Wick’ A Run For His Money
In case it wasn’t painfully obvious, the majority of revenge thrillers in existence tend to stick to a crystal clear formula made even easier to follow by modern classics like “John Wick,” “Taken,” and “Oldboy“; a tragic event upends the life of a seemingly average citizen, said citizen goes after the perpetrators, said citizen’s special set of skills may be unveiled in the process and the goal is eventually achieved amidst a ballet of violence coupled with the added bonus of John McClane-esque quips along the way.
Continue reading ‘Mayhem!’ Review: Nassim Lyes Stars In A Revenge Thriller That Gives ‘John Wick’ A Run For His Money at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Mayhem!’ Review: Nassim Lyes Stars In A Revenge Thriller That Gives ‘John Wick’ A Run For His Money at The Playlist.
- 1/4/2024
- by Brian Farvour
- The Playlist
Plot: A model prisoner’s leave ends in tragedy when his past resurfaces, forcing him to flee. He starts over in Thailand, until a local criminal coerces him back into crime. After this man attacks his family, he vows revenge.
Review: Xavier Gens burst onto the horror scene with 2007’s Frontier(s) and I thought he’d be quite the name by this point. He followed that up with the often maligned Hitman and all but disappeared from US Cinemas. After finding success with Lupin, I’m hoping that Mayhem! serves as the beginning of a bit of a revival for Gens. Because despite its issues, there is a lot of potential here.
The story of Mayhem! follows Sam, a professional fighter whose whole life is turned upside down when he’s forced to flee the country. He ends up in Thailand and rebuilds his life but his past catches...
Review: Xavier Gens burst onto the horror scene with 2007’s Frontier(s) and I thought he’d be quite the name by this point. He followed that up with the often maligned Hitman and all but disappeared from US Cinemas. After finding success with Lupin, I’m hoping that Mayhem! serves as the beginning of a bit of a revival for Gens. Because despite its issues, there is a lot of potential here.
The story of Mayhem! follows Sam, a professional fighter whose whole life is turned upside down when he’s forced to flee the country. He ends up in Thailand and rebuilds his life but his past catches...
- 1/3/2024
- by Tyler Nichols
- JoBlo.com
As mentioned in last week’s preview, the month of January is probably going to be a bit quieter with not that many big movies, as theatergoers mainly will be catching up on holiday and Oscar fare. We do have one new wide release this weekend, though. Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.
Jason Blum‘s Blumhouse and James Wan‘s Atomic Monster had such a huge hit when Universal released their horror film “M3GAN” the first week of January in 2023, that the same team has reunited for this weekend’s new high-concept entry, “Night Swim.”
Starring Wyatt Russell (“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”) and Oscar nominee Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), the film involves a family buying a new suburban home with a swimming pool that seems to have healing properties, but only at first. After a few days, the family realizes that there’s something...
Jason Blum‘s Blumhouse and James Wan‘s Atomic Monster had such a huge hit when Universal released their horror film “M3GAN” the first week of January in 2023, that the same team has reunited for this weekend’s new high-concept entry, “Night Swim.”
Starring Wyatt Russell (“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”) and Oscar nominee Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), the film involves a family buying a new suburban home with a swimming pool that seems to have healing properties, but only at first. After a few days, the family realizes that there’s something...
- 1/3/2024
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
Xavier Gens (Frontiers, Cold Skin) is back this week with the brand new action thriller Mayhem!, and IFC Films has provided us with an exclusive clip to whet your appetite today.
Mayhem! will be available in theaters and everywhere you rent movies on January 5, 2024.
The film’s trailer was loaded up with rave reviews that praised the fight choreography in Xavier Gens’ latest, and our exclusive clip spotlights one of those violent fight sequences.
Check it out below, with the previously released trailer underneath the clip.
In the film, “Sam (Nassim Lyes) is a professional boxer about to be released from prison in France, but while on parole, his past catches up with him and he is forced to flee the country. Five years later, he has rebuilt a simple life on an exotic island in Thailand with his wife Mia and her daughter Dara, working multiple jobs to support...
Mayhem! will be available in theaters and everywhere you rent movies on January 5, 2024.
The film’s trailer was loaded up with rave reviews that praised the fight choreography in Xavier Gens’ latest, and our exclusive clip spotlights one of those violent fight sequences.
Check it out below, with the previously released trailer underneath the clip.
In the film, “Sam (Nassim Lyes) is a professional boxer about to be released from prison in France, but while on parole, his past catches up with him and he is forced to flee the country. Five years later, he has rebuilt a simple life on an exotic island in Thailand with his wife Mia and her daughter Dara, working multiple jobs to support...
- 1/3/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
The original title for Xavier Gens’s Mayhem! was Farang, a word that describes the main character’s status in Thailand. A martial artist and ex-con, Sam (Nassim Lyes) is also a foreigner, and a Westerner at that, having fled his native France. The title change is understandable, meant to reach the broader audience that might take interest in the film’s bloody revenge story, though it risks setting the wrong expectations. After all, long stretches of Mayhem! pass with little in the way of actual mayhem, especially in its first hour.
The film, written by Gens and Magali Rossito, initially focuses on Sam’s daily life after he’s released on day parole and does an honest day’s work at a construction site. But trouble soon finds Sam, and after a brief chase and scuffle that leaves one man dead, Mayhem! essentially hits reset and jumps forward five years.
The film, written by Gens and Magali Rossito, initially focuses on Sam’s daily life after he’s released on day parole and does an honest day’s work at a construction site. But trouble soon finds Sam, and after a brief chase and scuffle that leaves one man dead, Mayhem! essentially hits reset and jumps forward five years.
- 1/2/2024
- by Steven Scaife
- Slant Magazine
When you think of iconic action films of the past decade or so, “John Wick” and “The Raid: Redemption” are probably at the top of that list. Both, in their own ways, have forever altered how action films are made in the 21st century. So, needless to say, when you see a film like “Mayhem!” get compared to both of those films, you pay attention.
Continue reading ‘Mayhem!’ Exclusive Clip: ‘John Wick’ Meets ‘The Raid’ In Xavier Gens’ Brutal Action Film at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Mayhem!’ Exclusive Clip: ‘John Wick’ Meets ‘The Raid’ In Xavier Gens’ Brutal Action Film at The Playlist.
- 12/19/2023
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
While fans wait for “Gangs Of London” Season 3, how about a film directed by one of the TV show’s directors? “Mayhem!” doesn’t star anyone from the British crime series, but it operates in a similar vein: a crime-ridden tale about violence, vengeance, and the value of family.
Read More: The Most Anticipated Films Of 2024
“Mayhem!” follows a French ex-pro boxer released from prison who escapes to Thailand after his past catches up with him.
Continue reading ‘Mayhem!’ Trailer: French Actioner From ‘Gangs Of London’ Director Hits Theaters & Video On Demand On January 5 at The Playlist.
Read More: The Most Anticipated Films Of 2024
“Mayhem!” follows a French ex-pro boxer released from prison who escapes to Thailand after his past catches up with him.
Continue reading ‘Mayhem!’ Trailer: French Actioner From ‘Gangs Of London’ Director Hits Theaters & Video On Demand On January 5 at The Playlist.
- 12/8/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
If you’d like to kick off the new year with some hard-hitting action, you probably can’t go wrong with Mayhem!, a new action thriller from director Xavier Gens (Gangs of London). IFC Films has released the first trailer for Mayhem!, which stars kickboxer-turned-actor Nassim Lyes as an ex-con battling his way through Thailand to avenge his wife and save his daughter.
Mayhem! premiered at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival earlier this year and earned rave reviews. If the movie is anything like the trailer, those raves were well deserved. In the vein of Taken and The Raid, the film features “jaw-dropping fight sequences and captivating camera movements, while transcending the traditional action genre with the story’s emotional core paired with artful cinematography.” I’ll admit that this one had slipped under my radar, but it’s definitely got my attention now.
Related Joe Lynch’s Mayhem hits...
Mayhem! premiered at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival earlier this year and earned rave reviews. If the movie is anything like the trailer, those raves were well deserved. In the vein of Taken and The Raid, the film features “jaw-dropping fight sequences and captivating camera movements, while transcending the traditional action genre with the story’s emotional core paired with artful cinematography.” I’ll admit that this one had slipped under my radar, but it’s definitely got my attention now.
Related Joe Lynch’s Mayhem hits...
- 12/7/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
French filmmaker Xavier Gens (Frontiers, Cold Skin) is back with brand new action thriller Mayhem!, and IFC Films has unleashed the trailer and release date this week.
Mayhem! will be available in theaters and everywhere you rent movies on January 5, 2024.
The film’s trailer is loaded with bone-crunching action and multiple rave reviews that praise the fight choreography and the nonstop action on display in Xavier Gens’ latest.
Watch the official trailer for Mayhem! below.
In the film, “Sam (Nassim Lyes) is a professional boxer about to be released from prison in France, but while on parole, his past catches up with him and he is forced to flee the country. Five years later, he has rebuilt a simple life on an exotic island in Thailand with his wife Mia and her daughter Dara, working multiple jobs to support his family and buy a piece of land to build a restaurant.
Mayhem! will be available in theaters and everywhere you rent movies on January 5, 2024.
The film’s trailer is loaded with bone-crunching action and multiple rave reviews that praise the fight choreography and the nonstop action on display in Xavier Gens’ latest.
Watch the official trailer for Mayhem! below.
In the film, “Sam (Nassim Lyes) is a professional boxer about to be released from prison in France, but while on parole, his past catches up with him and he is forced to flee the country. Five years later, he has rebuilt a simple life on an exotic island in Thailand with his wife Mia and her daughter Dara, working multiple jobs to support his family and buy a piece of land to build a restaurant.
- 12/7/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Farang! Photo: courtesy of Frightfest
A filmmaker who has never been afraid to explore the subject of violence, since his début feature, Frontière(s), in which a group of criminals seeks refuge in an inn run by a group of neo-Nazis, Xavier Gens returns with his revenge thriller Farang (Mayhem!).
The story centres on Sam (Nassim Lyes), who flees to Thailand after being involved in a fatal altercation. There he sets up home with Mia (Loryn Nounay) and her daughter. Their seemingly tranquil life is disrupted when Sam makes a fateful choice, thrusting him and his family into what seems to be an inescapable cycle of destructive violence.
Following the film's international première at Fantasia, Gens spoke with Eye For Film about the influence of the late William Friedkin and the importance of emotion driving the action.
Farang Photo: Courtesy of IFC Films.
Paul Risker: Why film as a means of creative expression?...
A filmmaker who has never been afraid to explore the subject of violence, since his début feature, Frontière(s), in which a group of criminals seeks refuge in an inn run by a group of neo-Nazis, Xavier Gens returns with his revenge thriller Farang (Mayhem!).
The story centres on Sam (Nassim Lyes), who flees to Thailand after being involved in a fatal altercation. There he sets up home with Mia (Loryn Nounay) and her daughter. Their seemingly tranquil life is disrupted when Sam makes a fateful choice, thrusting him and his family into what seems to be an inescapable cycle of destructive violence.
Following the film's international première at Fantasia, Gens spoke with Eye For Film about the influence of the late William Friedkin and the importance of emotion driving the action.
Farang Photo: Courtesy of IFC Films.
Paul Risker: Why film as a means of creative expression?...
- 9/1/2023
- by Paul Risker
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
IFC Films has acquired Xavier Gens’ action spectacle “Mayhem!” (“Farang”) from Studiocanal ahead of its premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival.
Produced by Vincent Roget (Same Player) and Dimitri Stephanides (WTFilms), “Mayhem!” will be released in 2024.
“Xavier Gens has crafted an energetic and propulsive film, showcasing some of the most impressive fight choreography we have ever seen,” said Scott Shooman, head of AMC Networks’ Film Group.
“While winking at films like ‘The Raid’ and ‘Taken,’ Xavier has made a film which stands on its own as an iconic new member of the hand-to-hand action canon. We are thrilled to be working with the immensely talented team to bring this riveting story to theaters,” he added.
Shot in France and Thailand, “Mayhem!” stars Nassim Lyes as Sam. When he gets out of prison, he finds it difficult to escape the reach of a local gang lord. He heads to Thailand,...
Produced by Vincent Roget (Same Player) and Dimitri Stephanides (WTFilms), “Mayhem!” will be released in 2024.
“Xavier Gens has crafted an energetic and propulsive film, showcasing some of the most impressive fight choreography we have ever seen,” said Scott Shooman, head of AMC Networks’ Film Group.
“While winking at films like ‘The Raid’ and ‘Taken,’ Xavier has made a film which stands on its own as an iconic new member of the hand-to-hand action canon. We are thrilled to be working with the immensely talented team to bring this riveting story to theaters,” he added.
Shot in France and Thailand, “Mayhem!” stars Nassim Lyes as Sam. When he gets out of prison, he finds it difficult to escape the reach of a local gang lord. He heads to Thailand,...
- 8/2/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s new strand in which, each fortnight, we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track. So we’re going to do the hard work for you.
This week we visit French director Xavier Gens’s Thailand-set fight-fest Farang, which has shown independent French action movies can hold their own in cinemas and find international buyers. Released against a real-life background of fury towards the police following the killing of a French teenager during a traffic stop in June, the film has shown there remains an appetite for genre movie in the country.
Name: Farang
Country: France
Distributor: Studiocanal
Networks: Canal+, France Télévisions
Where to watch: Due...
This week we visit French director Xavier Gens’s Thailand-set fight-fest Farang, which has shown independent French action movies can hold their own in cinemas and find international buyers. Released against a real-life background of fury towards the police following the killing of a French teenager during a traffic stop in June, the film has shown there remains an appetite for genre movie in the country.
Name: Farang
Country: France
Distributor: Studiocanal
Networks: Canal+, France Télévisions
Where to watch: Due...
- 7/25/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The UK’s biggest horror and genre festival returns to London this August, with another gloriously gory programme. Kicking off with the European premiere of much anticipated new body horror Suitable Flesh from genre legend Joe Lynch, FrightFest’s 2023 summer event boasts a whopping seventy films across four screens, and this year will return to being entirely under one roof, at the Cineworld Leicester Square.
Among the heavy-hitters in the festivals line-up are Farang, the latest “French blockbuster” from fantasy favourite Xavier Gens, Hitman); Where the Devil Roams, the newest chiller from family filmmaking team John, Zelda, Toby and Lulu Adams; Paris Zarcilla’s SXSW breakout hit Raging Grace and transgender director Alice Maio Mackay’s game changing Australian thriller T Blockers, shot by a predominantly queer, non-binary and trans cast and crew.
Documentary fans will be spoiled for choice, too, with new films on the legacy of J-horror, Brian Yuzna...
Among the heavy-hitters in the festivals line-up are Farang, the latest “French blockbuster” from fantasy favourite Xavier Gens, Hitman); Where the Devil Roams, the newest chiller from family filmmaking team John, Zelda, Toby and Lulu Adams; Paris Zarcilla’s SXSW breakout hit Raging Grace and transgender director Alice Maio Mackay’s game changing Australian thriller T Blockers, shot by a predominantly queer, non-binary and trans cast and crew.
Documentary fans will be spoiled for choice, too, with new films on the legacy of J-horror, Brian Yuzna...
- 7/13/2023
- by Ben Robins
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Our friends at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, the premiere genre festival in Switzerland, have announced the full lineup for this year's festival running during the first week of July. It is a program that boasts a lineup of 124 films and for sake of brevity we have linked to each individual program in the announcement below. Hint, it is a silly amount of really, really good movies, both new and current faves from the circuit. If I were there I would not miss the new timey wimey film from Yamaguchi Junta, River. Nor would I miss the dense, epic crime film, Kennedy. And anything I have seen of Xavier Gens' action flick Farang looks like it will punch out my eyeballs. There...
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[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 6/15/2023
- Screen Anarchy
Exclusive: Paris-based WTFilms has acquired international sales rights for thriller Hood Witch, the debut film of rising French director Saïd Belktibia, starring Golshifteh Farahani and Denis Lavant.
Iranian-French actress and activist Farahani (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No) plays a woman who makes a living smuggling exotic animals and illicit products.
She branches out with the creation of a mobile App that connects clients with mystical marabout healers, but when a user’s consultation takes a tragic turn she finds her facing a violent backlash that could cost her and her son their lives.
The thriller is produced by Iconoclast and Les Misérables director Lady Ly’s Lyly Films.
Iconoclast’s recent credits include Romain Gavras’s Netflix original Athena, which debuted in Venice last year. The company is in Cannes this year as a producer on the Midnight Screening title The King Of Algiers.
“Saïd Belktibia is...
Iranian-French actress and activist Farahani (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No) plays a woman who makes a living smuggling exotic animals and illicit products.
She branches out with the creation of a mobile App that connects clients with mystical marabout healers, but when a user’s consultation takes a tragic turn she finds her facing a violent backlash that could cost her and her son their lives.
The thriller is produced by Iconoclast and Les Misérables director Lady Ly’s Lyly Films.
Iconoclast’s recent credits include Romain Gavras’s Netflix original Athena, which debuted in Venice last year. The company is in Cannes this year as a producer on the Midnight Screening title The King Of Algiers.
“Saïd Belktibia is...
- 5/18/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
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