The prestigious series, rated 4.2 out of 5, was inspired by this intense film with Adele Exarchopoulos and Gilles Lelouch.

What is it about? Since 2014, restorative justice in France has offered crime victims and perpetrators the possibility of dialogue in safe systems supervised by professionals and volunteers such as Judith, Fanny or Michel.

Nassim, Isa and Thomas, convicted of theft, Grégoire, Navel and Sabine, victims of house robbery, mugging and bag snatching, but also Chloe, victim of incestuous rape, all participate in legal restorative measures.

In their journey there is anger and hope, silence and words, allies and heartache, awareness and self-confidence… and at the end of the road, sometimes, reparation.. .

Prestigious references

Gene Hare was referenced in Sidney Lumet’s famous experimental film 12 Angry Men (1957). But also in therapy, a series by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano. The filmmaker says: “It really made me happy and also relieved: at this point, even if I didn’t want to, I still wondered if the attacks the victim was subjected to were staged.”

“Do we have to see Sabine (Miu-Miu) have her bag stolen? Would her story be enough? In ‘Therapy’ it reinforced what I wanted to do. The faces of the series were like landscapes: we were our own images. We could trust the words and the acting. I focused on enjoyment and At the prospect of seeing my actors.”

The birth of the project

Established in 2014, Restorative Justice is a space for dialogue that offers participants who experience the consequences of crime a chance to meet to ask “why” and “how”. After Pupil, Gene Herr was looking for a new project and began researching two topics that interested him: brain function and the justice system.

“I was always fascinated by the news, the trials, the big figures of gangsterism, the tenors of the bar… One day I came across a podcast about restorative justice. He intrigued me, then I wondered: what did I care about it. The process was exactly what led to my research on the brain: repair.recalls the director, who is making his third feature film.

Robbery with violence

Gene Heary quickly decided on a prisoner-victim clash surrounding a violent robbery. A fairly banal social and societal problem, but whose devastating impact on the victim is underestimated. Director says:

“Domestic violence has no social boundaries, it breaks all types of families, neighborhoods, classes… These are deaf wars that take place outside the walls of homes, our homes, everyone can identify, project themselves.

“I once again documented myself at length and wanted to tell about the aggressor’s brother, the victim and the family that caused it. Violence, love, power grabs, flaws and shortcomings … terrible dramas. And common.”

Prove yourself

In Pupil and I’ll Always See Your Face, Gene Hare shines a light on a little-known place in reality, offering tools that bring hope. However, the filmmaker does not make these films to talk about adoption or restorative justice:

“It’s not a documentary, I’m concerned with the substance, but for me it’s first and foremost a movie. I choose this subject because I feel I can sow the seeds of romance in it and it will yield. I have the opportunity to make a good film.”

“During my research, one of my interlocutors told me: ‘The goal of restorative justice is to release emotions through speech.'” This is the release I wanted to stage.he says.

Crazy actor!

Jean Hery wrote the film with certain actors in mind, such as his mother Miu-Miu (Sabina), Elodie Bouchess (Judith), Gilles Lelouch (Grigoire), Leila Becht (Novel) and Jean-Pierre Darossin (Michel). The director recalls:

“I wasn’t sure that Gilles would be interested in the role – after all, his character only appears on the fiftieth page – I didn’t know Leila Bekhti. For me, they were compasses, it was nice to move forward with them. In my mind.”

“I thought very quickly Birane Ba Isa for the role. I found him very inspiring when I worked with him on a show at the Comédie Française. Although there are few young characters in my films, he made me imagine one. “

“Big, big, sunny, very reliable, he is looking for a lot, then he came Soulian Brahim who i worked with Adele Exarchopoulos, Dali Bensalah and Fred Testot.”