“Riyadh has nothing to do with my character Tomorrow Belongs to Us”… Sammy confides in the secret of the cave

“Riyadh has nothing to do with my character Tomorrow Belongs to Us”… Sammy confides in the secret of the cave

Tomorrow’s flagship face has been with us for almost six years now, Sammy Gharb betrays TF1 tonight as she takes on two leading roles in the TV movie Secret of the Cave on France 3 alongside Elodie Varles (A More Beautiful Life). ).

The plot of this thriller, directed by Christelle Raynal, begins after the death of a local figure in the town of Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, who was found murdered on the banks of the Ardèche River. The murder weapon is a carved stone dating to more than 40,000 years ago, a period consistent with the presence of men in the region’s rock cave.

Gendarmerie captain Riad Lekir, played by Sammy Gharbi, must then team up with his colleague in the research department, Manon Ferret-Duval, to solve this thorny case. A collaboration that promises to be complicated, as a painful past binds the two gendarmes. And, of course, this past will soon reappear unexpectedly and turn the lives of the heroes upside down.

Sammy Gharbi, who already excelled in Meurtres à Grasse a few years ago on France 3, confided to our microphone this new role of the investigator, very different from Karim, tomorrow belongs to us, about his partnership with Elodie Varlet and the difficult shooting of a TV movie.

AlloCiné: What attracted you to Le Secret de la Cave and the role of Riyad when you were offered the script?

Sami Gharbi: In this investigation, everything about the past appealed to me. It’s a case that affects two characters’ families, and I found it very interesting and very disturbing.

There’s obviously this thriller side, like almost all the France 3 TV movies like “Meurtres à…”, but there’s also a really dramatic, really intimate touch, with this past that keeps coming back and all the drama that comes with it . . Then there’s action and comedy as Manon and Riyad start a lot of spades and quite a search for each other as they begin their investigation.

And then, in what is written, I did not specifically know the Shove cave. I didn’t know it was the oldest cave in France, or even the world. Minus 36,000 years is still something (laughs).

The Secret of the Cave offers your first “first role” in bonus fiction. We imagine this is a pleasant achievement for you…

It’s actually my first time in a lead role, so yeah, it’s great. This was done thanks to the products with which I had already shot Mise à nu a year and a half ago. I played Julie de Bona’s lawyer and got along very well with the producers.

They liked my work, I liked their way of working and thinking. And it happened like this. They suggested The Secret of the Cave, which grabbed my attention as soon as I read it. I knew I would have some nice palettes to play with. That it wouldn’t be just a “poker face,” a very detective cop. I knew there was something deeper behind it.

When you’re asked to play an on-screen investigator, do you first look at where you can take the character so that it’s completely different from Karim, who you play in Tomorrow Belongs to Us?

You heard everything (laughs). Yes, of course, the second Karim will not be interesting. So I don’t mind playing an investigator in other fiction, but this has to be different. And as I was saying, there was a real depth to Riyadh that interested me. On a personal level, he has nothing to do with Karim. So I hope it will be successful and the audience will see that I am offering something different with this role.

One of the strengths of the TV movie lies in your chemistry with Elodie Varlett. Did you know each other before shooting together?

We have mutual friends, so when I found out I was going to play with Elodie, I was happy. I knew I would be in good company. And from day one we got along really well, so it’s great because it’s important to have a good partner.

But really, the entire cast of the TV movie is great. I loved the scenes I share with my fictional daughters. There was a great bond between us. I told Lilu Xiao, who plays Rose, my hero’s eldest daughter, “You’re the star you’re photographed with Camille Cotin and Matt Damon (In StillwaterEditor’s note), I follow, it’s me who has the pressure”. We couldn’t stop laughing at this, it was our run around the set. I laughed with him and told him “How do you think I’m going to interpret this scene? What would Matt Damon say to you?” (laughs).

At least when you have such good chemistry on set, things go well. And I think it’s up to the lead actors and the director to shoot on set and create a good atmosphere. If we manage to have a laugh in between and everyone is fine, we definitely feel like we’re on vacation, even if we’re working hard, so that’s super positive.

I think the weather conditions made it a bit difficult to shoot, can you confirm?

I fully confirm. Eric Guichard, our cinematographer, did a real job on the lighting and what they were able to do with the color grading is incredible. Because we had a very bad time and it doesn’t show on the screen. It was almost always cold, it was raining a lot, it was windy. It was difficult, but sometimes we manage to do great things in adversity (laughs).

Did you get to enjoy Vallon-Pont-d’Arc and the region during the shoot?

I stayed there on weekends during the entire month of filming. I visited a little. Obviously I went to visit the cave. Surroundings, Vallon-Pont-d’Arc. But I left quickly because we were working. We had great shooting days.

Tomorrow is ours, celebrating our sixth anniversary this summer. Are you still enjoying playing Kareem so much?

And really. I am very lucky, what authors write for me, I have many dramas, thrillers. Really interesting stories to follow.

Do you have other projects you can talk about?

It might be a Netflix project, but it hasn’t been confirmed yet, so I can’t say more. This is the law of commerce. We are going through castings, waiting for answers. But at the moment I’m very focused on tomorrow, I’m taking it pretty well, so I have nothing to complain about.

Source: Allocine

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