A team of broken hands or true champions? Olivier Marshall passionate rugby coach in the comedy Pour l’honneur

After Le Fils à Jo, released in 2010, Philippe Gillard offers a new rugby comedy with Pour l’honneur, in cinemas on 3 May.

The filmmaker takes us to Tropont-sur-Tescue and Tours-les-Bains, two villages in the south of France. They will engage in a merciless ticking war symbolized by a hard-fought derby between the two rugby clubs.

Although Tropont has undoubtedly gained the upper hand, the sudden arrival of asylum seekers will change the situation. Will Turturt be able to defeat his sworn enemy in the most important derby in his history, in the centenary year?

Origin of the project

With Pour l’honneur, Philippe Gillard wanted to reconnect with the world of rugby. This new project was born out of reading an article found by Eric Furniols, a director and screenwriter and also a former rugby player.

The article was about asylum-seeking migrants who settled in a small Italian village, against the advice of all its residents, and who ended up integrating there thanks to a soccer team.

For Philip Gillard, beyond the victories in the field, “First of all, it was the merit of the victory of the heart over superstition. I thought the story was brilliant and I said to myself that it would be a wonderful script to replace football with rugby, Eric agreed to give it to me and we wrote it. Together”The director explains.

According to the filmmaker, sport is fantastic because it has the same rules for everyone and everywhere in the world.

Offsides, penalties, free kicks, court dimensions, goalposts, basketball hoop height are not decided by culture, religion or skin color. players of one team. They have a common goal, to win the match, and for that they will have a common language, whatever their background.”Philip Gillard emphasizes.

A heteroclitic caste

The cast of the film includes professional actors such as Olivier Marshall, Olivia Bonham or Philippe Dusquez and former rugby players. The match scenes and practices were stressful for the director, who feared injuries.

“It’s fun rugby. Often times when you push yourself or get too involved, something happens. We have to balance between the two to be as reliable as possible when we’re in the safe zone.”Philip Gillard emphasizes.

To support the camera crew in the difficult task of the match scenes, the director asked one of the physiotherapists of the French national team, Christophe Foucault, to be present on the set.

Not so awesome cameras

Note that the film stars singer Frances Cabrell and host Patrick Sebastien! The former, a big rugby fan, wrote and performed the last songs.

Philippe Gillard met the artist two years ago, driving to his house to ask if he could write a song for the film. “He promised me he’d think about it… time is running out, the shooting is coming up. I think I forgot and I don’t dare bring it back. And one fine day, I got a call on the phone: Francis says he’s going to send me something.”The director recalls.

As for Patrick Sebastien, he practiced rugby as a youth at CA de Brive before becoming its president years later. Under his leadership, the club won the European Club Cup in 1997.

Philip Gillard would like to thank this long-time friend who helped him in his early days: “He has always followed my journey since my first novel, 30 years ago. He invited me to talk about it on TV when I was nobody. He is generous, always trying to recognize and encourage young artists, as he did. Bring the old, forgotten ones back to the scene.”

For Honor hits theaters May 3.