SAMBER

(Sambre)

TELEVISION COMPETITION
MELVILLE THEATRE
Series, Thriller / Drama, Episodes 1 & 2

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 30
5:15 pm (Screening ends at 7:30 pm)
THURSDAY OCTOBER 31
3:00 pm (Screening ends at 5:15 pm)
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1
3:05 pm (Screening ends at 5:20 pm)
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2
7:30 pm (Screening ends at 9:45 pm)

Presented in association with:
Federation Studios

Directed by: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
Created and Written by: Alice Géraud, Marc Herpoux, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
Based on the Book by: Alice Géraud
Produced by: Matthieu Belghiti (What’s Up Films), Jacques-Henri Bronckart (Versus Production), Lionel Uzan (Federation Studios), Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, France Télévisions
Cinematography: Elin Kirschfink
Film Editing: Sophie Brunet
Original Score: Raf Keunen
Cast: Alix Poisson (Christine Labot), Julien Frison (Jean-Pierre Blanchot), Jonathan Turnbull (Enzo Salina), Pauline Parigot (Irène Dereux), Noémie Lvovsky (Arlette Caruso), Clémence Poésy (Cécile Dumont), Olivier Gourmet (Etienne Winckler), Louise Orry-Diquéro (Stéphanie), Pierre Perrier (Luc Belfond), Patrick Descamps (Michel Gravuski), Carolie Russier (Sylvie André)
International Sales: Federation Studios
Original Broadcast: France 2

In 1988, a woman named Christine regains consciousness after being brutally attacked on her way to work one morning. She files a complaint, but the bumbling, sexist cops don’t take her seriously. Neither the victim nor the police officers so much as utter the words “sexual assault.” Other crimes follow. Many. Always in the early morning, always on that same foggy road that runs along the Samber River. In 1996, an idealistic investigating magistrate finally takes an interest; in the early 2000s, a local mayor takes on the cause; in 2006, the Belgians get involved… Sixty-seven victims and 30 years later, in 2018, the most notorious serial rapist in France is finally arrested. This fictionalized series based on true events is a tense thriller with an exceptional cast, and told by a true master of the true-crime genre.

Director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade studied law and journalism before turning to documentary filmmaking. He won an Oscar for Best Documentary for Murder on a Sunday Morning (2001), wrote and directed the documentary mini-series The Staircase (2004), and was executive producer for the Sundance series Sin City Law (2007). In 2009, he began to direct fictional series, including Vanished (2012), Three Times Manon (2014), Manon, 20 Years (COLCOA 2017), The Inside Game (COLCOA 2018) and Circles of Power (TAFFF 2022).