The Empire

L'Empire

TIFF65: Greek Premiere
At long last something happens in a quiet and picturesque fishing village near the Opal Coast, in northern France; a special baby is born. A child so unique and peculiar that it becomes the catalyst for the start of a secret war between extraterrestrial forces. An anarchic formalistically and delightfully idiosyncratic, unapologetic blend of fantasy adventure, science fiction, comedy, and sociological satire, The Empire undermines the still idleness of summertime, converting a seaside village where nothing exciting ever occurs into a battlefield between interplanetary empires. Anyone who ever wanted, as a child, to let their imagination run wild, incorporating the archetypal powers of Good and Evil in their game in order to acutely enjoy it, can expect to be filled with an intoxicating sense of nostalgia watching The Empire. With unique visual power, boundless inspiration in its surrealism, saucy “disparaging” humor, and eroticism that overflows, Bruno Dumont’s latest film is also the most amusing in his entire – fascinatingly sui generis – filmography.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Bruno Dumont
Script: Bruno Dumont
Cinematography: David Chambille
Editing: Bruno Dumont, Desidera Rayner
Sound: Philippe Lecoeur, Elsa Ruhlmann, Jeremy Hassid, Romain Ozanne, Emmanuel Croset, Olivier Walczak
Actors: Brandon Vlieghe, Anamaria Vartolomei, Lyna Khoudri, Camille Cottin, Fabrice Luchini, Bernard Pruvost, Philippe Jore
Production: Tessalit Productions
Producers: Jean Bréhat, Bertrand Faivre
Co-production: Red Balloon, Ascent Film, Novak Prod, Rosa Filmes
Co-producers: Dorothe Beinemeier, Fabrizio Mosca, Marcantonio Borghese, Andrea Paris, Matteo Rovere, Ines Vasiljevic
Costumes: Alexandra Charles, Carole Chollet
Production Design: Erwan Legal, Celia Marolleau
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Portugal
Production Year: 2024
Duration: 110'
Contact: Memento International
Awards/Distinctions: Silver Bear Jury Prize - Berlinale 2024

Bruno Dumont

Bruno Dumont directed his first feature film at the age of thirty-eight: The Life of Jesus in 1997, shot in Bailleul, his native town in Northern France. This film earned him immediate recognition: selected for the Directors' Fortnight, it received a Special Mention. Exploring a demanding, singular, raw cinematographic path, Bruno Dumont returned to Cannes in 1999 with Humanity, in Official Competition. He was awarded with the Grand Prix and a double prize for the interpretation of the two non-professional actors. Bruno Dumont moved away from the North of France to shoot in the California desert, Twentynine Palms, a road movie selected at the Venice Film Festival in 2003. In 2006, Flanders, a harsh film about the ravages of war, received the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Bruno Dumont then directed two films on the themes of religion, mysticism and their drifts: Hadewijch and Outside Satan. After a biopic with Juliette Binoche, Camille Claudel 1915, Bruno Dumont opened up to a new audience with the brilliant success of the mini-series Li'l Quinquin, a much more comical project than his previous works. He continues on the same burlesque path with Slack Bay, which was presented in Official Competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. He then turned his attention to the tragic fate of Joan of Arc and directed the musical Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc, selected at the Directors' Fortnight in 2017 and then Joan of Arc selected at Un Certain Regard in 2019 where he received a Special Mention from the jury. The film also received the prestigious Prix Louis Delluc. France, starring Lea Seydoux, an acerbic satire of the media world through a portrait of a star journalist, was selected in competition at Cannes Film Festival in 2021. In 2024, Dumont's new feature, the galactic comedy The Empire premiered at the 74th Berlinale.

Filmography

1997 The Life of Jesus
1999 Humanity
2003 Twentynine Palms
2006 Flanders
2009 Hadewijch
2011 Outside Satan
2013 Camille Claudel 1915
2014 Li'l Quinquin (TV)
2019 Joan of Arc
2021 France
2024 The Empire