Sandman: A confirmed series star in his first major role

The birth of the project

When he was young, Steve Acciepo was a real estate agent, particularly in the posh areas of Paris. He once sold an apartment to a client who returned a year later to offer to find him a tenant. The property belonged to the grandmother, who made a promise: she did not want black people to live there… The director recalls:

“I was a bit taken aback and it was difficult for me to understand. I spoke to my boss who was very uncomfortable with the situation. He said he understood that I did not want to take care of this property and that the business would bring me money, I was living in the suburbs and I was in an uncertain situation, this money I needed

“That’s why I accepted my client’s offer. It worked very well for me over the years. I was involved in this systemic racism, this housing racism. When I started working in film years later, the guilt, this moral problem. A very personal question was the spark to make a film about housing in France.

The time frame of the movie

The film takes place during the Gbagbo-Ouattara crisis in Côte d’Ivoire in 2010-2011. Steve Acciepo explains: “I spoke a lot to people who lived through this conflict to understand how they physically experienced this displacement from Abidjan to France. I am of Ivorian descent on my father’s side. It was something natural for me to talk about this topic. “

Document…

Given his subject matter, it was difficult for Steve Acciepo to speak to sleepy traders. Therefore, the director went to document himself in the field of associations, in town halls, among politicians and victims. He recalls:

“I was very inspired by a friend of a social worker who faced terrible situations in the context of her work and especially a young refugee who was enrolled in a prostitution ring in Grenoble. He assured me that it was one of the hardest moments. his career.”

“When I draw inspiration from him to write a Fanta character, I have to minimize the reality, because it can sometimes be so brutal that fiction can no longer bear it at the risk of exaggeration.

housing crisis

Le Marchand de sable is supported by the Abbe Pierre Foundation. In France, 4 million people suffer from poor housing: on the streets, living in overcrowded housing or walls covered with mold, without the possibility of decent housing. Substandard housing (estimated at least 600,000 units) is largely the result of a housing crisis that has been ongoing for many years.

Master against “verified” employment!

Steve Acciepo first Mariama Guay, who plays Joe’s sister, then Ophel Baugh. Next, he looked for an actor who would be both Mary’s brother and Ophel’s ex. He says : “What I really liked about Musa was his humanity. In the movies before, we often used him to play a very mean guy who glares at people, or a very cool, very unusual guy.”

“Me, I saw something else in him: a form of awkwardness, a lot of softness and compassion and humanity. He also has charisma and a special voice, a little broken, very deep. So when I cast him, I twisted my character to bring him back to himself a little bit. I so I did it for almost all the actors except Aisa Maiga Benoit MagimelWho really made up their character.”