Christmas. It's their last week. The countdown has begun... For these five friends, who could be ourselves, dead-end lives with no future in the relentless city. Their only chance for relief: the nature reserve, where on weekends life takes on meaning again. ...For Le Saint, a born soldier, who is now a dependable bureaucrat in a police station following severe wounding in Afghanistan, and who has been assigned a last-chance mission. ...For Alice, whom he met this week: unforgettable eyes and a communicative love of life. Hope is reborn. But it's already the last day, and they have met by chance in the nature reserve. But this is not really a nature reserve.  It's an old fort, eaten away by vermin and overrun with vegetation. And this is not a forest.  Under the trees, there are moats that cannot be crossed and gaping façades. And the five friends no longer resemble us.  Le Saint and Alice have just discovered the unmentionable. But it's too late... Reality, daily life and everything we thought to be true collapses in an instant, revealing: pure nightmare!

INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR

• What inspired you in particular in “The Hunters” script ?

  A number of things. First of all, it’s a film that highlights complex human situations. There are strong but ambiguous characters: sometimes humane, sometimes monstrous, sometimes touching, sometimes scary. Next, the subject offers real visual possibilities because of the main setting, which is a huge, deserted fortification that has never been used for filming. The script features real originality and tension that grows until it becomes unbearable at the end. This is a real Greek tragedy: in a very brief period of time, the characters are led by an unrelenting destiny to their inexorable end. They are prisoners of a place they are unable to leave.

• What influenced you cinematographically ?

  The references for this type of film are “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Se7en”. The timelessness of these films and the authenticity of their characters span epochs; they remain frightening even today. I wanted to make a serious film with a worthwhile story.

• Why did you choose to film in English and use an English-speaking team ?

  Given my cinematographic influences and the type of film, this was a natural choice. The top thrillers have been made by English speakers; they know how to put together films like this. I knew my artistic vision of this story would be easier to convey and that they would enrich the film with their personal experience.

• How did you manage to be both actor and director, especially since this is your first film ?

  If I had any doubts about being able to fulfill both roles, I wouldn’t have taken on the job! But I have always worked like this when producing plays or short films. The role was a great one and required highly nuanced interpretation. I think this is a natural goal for a director. You take care of even the smallest details, you create a world and characters, and then you slip among the actors to act out the scene with them. A full circle! But it is also necessary to have a team you can count on and a skilled head cameraman.

• Did the film require extensive preparation ?

  This film required careful attention during preparation, and I knew my schedule would be tight. I wanted to avoid loose ends and hesitation during filming. For this reason, I made video pre-shoots of certain sequences. I looked for locations and seeped myself thoroughly in the atmosphere before beginning pre-production. And I made a complete shot list for each sequence. Everyone could refer to this list with confidence during filming. This preparation saved us money and, above all, time. By the way, there was no budget overrun.

• How was casting done ?

  I wanted to work with well-known television actors because they are familiar with a work rhythm that is very useful for a first film. They are ready in a hurry, give their best performance with only a few takes and have endurance.

  Since I grew up on television, I knew Tony Becker and Terence Knox from “Tour of Duty,” the series that made them famous. Our first informal meetings went very well, and the idea of making a film in Europe featuring authentically dramatic characters convinced them right away. As for Dianna Agron, she was not very well known when we did the casting. But I fell in love with her immediately. She has natural grace and beauty, and her very flexible way of acting during the audition was a determinant factor that set her off from the thirty or so other candidates. I am very proud to have discovered her talent early because a few months later, she was hired for the “Glee” series, a real phenomenon. For an ideal cast like the one for The Hunters, you need instinct. It was instinct that led me to audition the British actor Steven Waddington, on the recommendation of Sharon Howard Field, my casting director. And I chose him immediately. During the first rehearsals, I told the actors, “The credibility of this story rests on the friendship shared by the characters. We can believe the film if we believe their friendship” A few days later, they were inseparable and I think this interpersonal chemistry is visible on the screen.

• How did you manage to convince well-known talents like Mark Snow and John Aronson ?

  There is an immense amount of work to prepare the presentation and approach when you want to convince big names. You have to have faith in your project and be ready to defend it and make it known. Both of them read the script, which they loved, and they wanted to speak with me. During our phone and face-to-face meetings, they asked me lots of questions. It was obvious that we were on the same wavelength. They were intrigued by the originality of the project and the artistic possibilities offered by the film. And they said “yes.

• What’s it like when you work on a first film with veterans like these ?

  In my case, their collaboration was totally natural. We speak the same language and share the same references. It wasn’t even necessary to get used to each other; it was as if we had already made a number of films together! It was enough to work on my shot list with John Aronson to discover that we had the same ideas and that our suggestions were complementary. I would start a sentence and he would end it. A glance was enough to show we understood each other. We shared real confidence in each other.

• Is “The Hunters” an American or a European film ?

  The Hunters is a European film told like an American thriller. In other words, it’s a film that wants to fully penetrate complex psychologies without neglecting the entertainment aspect and the production of powerful images.

Cast

• Dianna Agron

  as "ALICE"

  IMDB Starmeter May 2010 : Rank 15 FILMOGRAPHY 2010 : I AM NUMBER FOUR - by D.J. Caruso produced by Michael Bay 2010 : THE ROMANTICS - by Galt Niederhoffer starring Katie Holmes and Elijah Wood 2009 : GLEE - TV series 2007 : HEROES - TV series (4 episodes) 2006- 2007 : VERONICA MARS - TV series (3 episodes) 2006 : CSI : NEW YORK - TV series (1 episode)

  • Dianna Agron

  www.diannaagron.net/

• Steven Waddington

  as "RONNY"

  FILMOGRAPHY 2011: SPEAK NO EVIL - by Pat Holden 2008: LARGO WINCH - by Jerome Salle 2007 : THE TUDORS - TV Series 2005 : BREAKFAST ON PLUTO - by Neil Jordan 1999 : SLEEPY HOLLOW - by Tim Burton 1995 : CARRINGTON - by Christopher Hampton 1992 : 1492 : CHRISTOPHE COLOMB - by Ridley Scott 1992 : THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS - by Michael Mann

  • Steven Waddington
  • Steven Waddington

• Tony Becker

  as "OLIVER"

  FILMOGRAPHY 2010 : A STATE OF HATE - by Anthony Hornus 2009 : SAVAGE - by Jordan Blum 2006 : GHOST TOWN : THE MOVIE - by Jeff Kennedy 2000: AGENT RED - by Damian Lee 1987-90: TOUR OF DUTY- TV Series (55 episodes)

  • Tony Becker

• Chris Briant

  as "LE SAINT"

  FILMOGRAPHY 2008 : DANCING AT LUGHNASA - by Nadine Darmon (Theatre) (Marseille Festival 2006) 2005/2006 : MOLIERE'S LES FEMMES SAVANTES - by Bernard Pigot (Theatre) 2004/2005: TANT D'ESPACE ENTRE NOS BAISERS - by Bernard Pigot (Theatre) (Avignon Festival 2005) 2003 : CRIMES EN SERIE - TV Series (1 épisode)

  • Chris Briant

  www.chrisbriant.com

• Terence knox

  as "CHIEF OF POLICE"

  FILMOGRAPHY 2011: A STATE OF HATE - by Anthony Hornus 2010: RENOVATION - by Robert Gwinn 2006 : GHOST TOWN : THE MOVIE - by Jeff Kennedy 2003 : AN ORDINARY KILLER 1993 : LOIS & CLARK - TV Series (2 episodes) 1987 ? 1990 : TOUR OF DUTY - TV Series (58 épisodes)

  • Terence knox

  www.terenceknox.com/

• Jay Brown

  as "STEPHEN"

  FILMOGRAPHY 2011 : THE GRIND - by Rishi Opel 2010 : FIT - by Rikki Beaddle Blair 2009 : BASELINE - by Brendon O?Loughlin 2007 : NIGHT JUNKIES - by Lawrence Pearce 2007 : HOLBY CITY - BBC TV Series (3 episodes)

  • Jay Brown

  www.jaybrown.tv

• Xavier Delambre

  as "WILLIAM"

  2009: Section de recherche/TV series (1 episode) 2008: Montherlant's La reine Morte by Jean-Laurent Cochet 2007: Kesslring's Arsenic et Vieilles Dentelles by Thierry Harcourt 2005: Guitry's Le veilleur de Nuit by Jean-Laurent Cochet

  • Xavier Delambre

• Philip Correia

  as "DAVID"

  FILMOGRAPHY 2009 : CASUALTY - Serie TV (1 episode) 2008 : DOCTORS - Serie TV BBC (7 episodes) 2006 : THE BILL - Serie TV (1 episode)

  • Philip Correia

Credits

• Chris Briant

  as "DIRECTOR"

  Born in 1981 in France, Chris Briant interrupted his university law studies to take courses in production at EICAR, the prestigious film school in Paris, where he was noted for obtaining his diploma in two years instead of the customary three. Interested in both directing and acting, he worked on a number of short films and theater pieces. His enthusiasm for acting eventually led him to enroll at the Charles Dullin school ? the oldest and most illustrious drama school in Paris. There, he was able to combine his two loves: acting and directing. After three years discovering the varied aspects of the acting profession and exploring different forms of expression and languages, Chris Briant began to work as an actor and theatrical director. In 2005, he partnered with Antoine Huet and Thomas Malmonte to found Humal Productions, with the intention of making his first feature film. He also worked as a director of promotional films for large industrial groups, obtaining a number of awards. In 2009, he made his first feature film, The Hunters, which gave him the opportunity to work on a script combining strong characters with a complex psychology and an intrigue filled with suspense and action. A lover of thrillers, influenced by such varied directors as Clint Eastwood, James Cameron, Ridley Scott and Terry Gilliam, and a great fan of TV series, Briant is particularly interested in exploring the complexity and contradictions of the human soul.

  • Chris Briant

  www.chrisbriant.com

• John Aronson

  as "DOP"

  FILMOGRAPHY: 2 Emmy awards nominations 2011 : UNDERCOVERS - TV series, written and produced by J.J. Abrams 2010 : RED TAILS - written and produced by Georges Lucas 2005 : KISS KISS BANG BANG - by Shane Black 2006-2007 : HEROES - TV series (15 episodes) 2005-2006 : WITHOUT A TRACE - TV series (18 episodes)

  • John Aronson

  www.johnaronson.com/

• Mark Snow

  as "COMPOSER"

  FILMOGRAPHY: 14 Emmy awards nominations 2008 : THE WILD GRASS by Alain Resnais 2006 : PRIVATE FEARS IN PUBLIC PLACES by Alain Resnais 1998 : THE X-FILES - The Movie - by Chris Carter 2001-2007 : SMALLVILLE - (132 episodes) 1993-2002 : THE X-FILES - (201 episodes) 1996-1999 : MILLENIUM - TV series (67 episodes)

  • Mark Snow