‘We Knew They Were Around The Corner’: The Vermines Team Comment On Their 2 Cesar Nominations

This is the first French genre movie with spiders and it’s already a huge success!

Released in theaters on December 27, Sébastien Vanicek’s Vermines has so far collected 247,798 screenings in 190 theaters in France. The horror feature drew 19,815 theatergoers on its first day. It’s the best opening for a French-language horror film since 2000’s Lionel Delplanc’s Let’s Walk in the Woods (which drew more than 30,000 admissions in theaters). Vermin has an average viewer rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars and Walk in the Woods has an average viewer rating of 1.1 stars for comparison…

Before its release, Vermines toured festivals, including its world premiere at the end of the Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week. This allowed Sebastien Vanicek’s first feature film to be reviewed in the international press (varietydeadline or specialized US site bloody disgusting).

And since January 24, Vermines has also received peer recognition as the film received 2 César nominations: Best First Film for its young director. Sebastian Vanicek and Best Visual Effects to Leo Ewald for Mac Guff Studios.

It’s only the second time a French horror film has been nominated for Best First Feature since Julia Ducournau’s Grave in 2017. Four years later, the French filmmaker won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Titan. ..

What is Vermin?

Filmed with real spiders to make the film more realistic, this thriller, directed by Theo Christin, Finnegan Oldfield, Jerome Niel, Sophia Lezaffre and Lisa Niarko, takes place in a building in Noisy-le-Grand. Caleb, a lover of exotic animals, comes home one day with a poisonous spider and accidentally lets it escape. After that, the population will have to fight for survival.

The first French film with spiders, the feature film has a bias that should surprise the audience. Far from demonizing arthropods, Vermin tries to make people realize that, despite their unattractive appearance, spiders are not the scary and bloodthirsty creatures we’ve been portrayed in movies for years. A very metaphorical film with a political message (which we explain in detail here).

In the face of such success and after these two big César nominations, which prove that French genre films are finally being considered better, AlloCiné interviewed director Sébastien Vanicek and Vermin producer Harry Torjman about these nominations.

Nominated for César for Best First Film

Vermines is nominated for Best First Film along with Lea Domenach’s Bernadette, Jean-Baptiste Durand’s Dog Out of the Garbage, Iris Kaltenbeck’s Kidnapping and Stephane Castang’s Vincent Must Die.

A mix of genres that shows the diversity of young French cinema according to Sébastien Wanicek, who told us:It’s quite rare for genre films to be nominated at the Césars, but I hope it will be less and less. This year is a bit of a turning point. There were such different suggestions as animal kingdom or Anatomy of a Fall. I see that French cinema is expanding.

I see that French cinema is expanding

We break down the distinction between auteur cinema and genre cinema. There are no more boundaries. Genre cinema is auteur cinema, and auteur cinema can be very genre-based. And there’s a whole new generation of filmmakers who are here to crack the codes.

And we’re seeing it this year with choices that are ultra-eclectic. I think there is good hope for the cinema of tomorrow, at least in this best first film category we see how wide the prism is. It’s a bit like an Internet category, tomorrow’s cinema. For me, this is the best hope, and so are the actors and actresses. We show a little bit of what the French cinema of tomorrow will consist of, and to be in the middle of such a wide range of proposals is extraordinary.”

Unexpected and disappointing nominations for French genre cinema

In turn, the producer Harry Translator – also while working on the series of Brief and Serge Le Mito – tells us: “I was very pleasantly surprised, but above all, I found these nominations very comforting. Like a clear message from the industry that tells us: “Welcome to Vermines, to the genre, to different, innovative proposals in French cinema.”

The team and especially Sebastian couldn’t believe it. He had tears in his eyes like me. We told ourselves that passion, demands, risk-taking in creation and production were appreciated.

This film does not fit into any box and continues its unique destiny from the beginning: selection at the Venice Film Festival, welcomed by very different people such as Sam Raimi, Olivier Nakache, Alexander Aja or Gilles LelouchBe a public success already in almost 250,000 theaters and has incredible reviews in L’Ecran Fantastique, Mad Movie, Télérama, Les Cahiers du Cinéma and Le Masque et la Plume.

Pests are shaking up the landscape of French cinema

I feel that Vermines shakes up the landscape of French cinema with great humility, perhaps because it is an honest proposition made with heart. What appealed to me about Sebastien’s proposal is that he offers a real artistic proposal that is not only entertaining but above all makes sense in what he basically says about us and our society.

In turn, the young director was very surprised that his name was mentioned as the best first film at the Cesar Awards. He tells us:I didn’t expect a César nomination at all. I am really very surprised. This is something we cannot even hope for. This is unusual, especially for a French terror film and even more so for a monster film. I am very happy and grateful. We have already won everything with these nominations. Everyone involved in this project took a risk. In France, a monster movie is risky. It was a big risk for those who put money.

And then the actors who were deeply involved in the film didn’t know who I was. I hadn’t done anything before short films and on paper Vermin was extremely bad. Although they trusted me, they followed me. Therefore, I am very glad that all this is recognized by the profession. But this is a film that never ceases to amaze me.”

If Sebastien Vanicek did not expect to appear in this category, he still hoped for a nomination for the Cesar for the best visual effects for Mac Guff studio, which accompanied him in the adventure of Vermines.

Because if the movie is mostly made with real spiders, the visual effects were obviously necessary, especially when the spiders get bigger. Therefore, the filmmaker worked with Mac Guff studio – he had already worked on Animal Kingdom, Lupine and Despicable Me. Thus, the spiders were scanned in 3D and thus the size of the animals could be manipulated by computer.

The director develops: “Regarding the nomination for Best Visual Effects, I’m so happy for them. It’s what I’ve been waiting for and really hoping for. I think their work should be recognized. They really gave it their all for this movie. They went a long way. More than the little words written in the contract was provided.

We knew they were waiting for us around the corner.

We knew it was just around the corner with this promise: a movie with spiders in the building. Monsters in France, we must be on it. Mac Guff Studio really responded and I’m glad their work is being recognised. ”

A bright future for French genre films?

A great career pest Is this a sign of improvement in French genre cinema? For producer Hari Torjman, everything will depend on the audience.

“The question I often ask myself is: what do I want to see? As a producer, of course, but above all as a viewer. In France we tend to quickly fall into the darkness of art house films or cartoons. Comedies. But for me the best offer is those who It manages to make you shudder, laugh and cry within minutes.Koreans are masters in this field (obviously I think). parasite from Bong Joon-ho).

Reconciling French society with genre films

Ultimately, it will be up to the public to decide. But the proposals that we intend to make in the next few years will be decisive: in addition to rehabilitating the genre in France, we must reconcile to the French public what we have been showing this side for years.

It seems to me that the public wants and maybe even needs to connect with their emotions in the theater. For a film to pull this off, it takes a strong story, creative direction, an ultra-committed cast, and a willingness, both in direction and production, to be honest and generous in every way. The public feels it, I’m sure!”

And if the public is there, financiers will probably have less to fear about producing this type of film. Because Vermines wasn’t easy to put together, as its producer explains: “We asked for all possible public support for this film. Fortunately, the visual effects were supported. But Vermin was mainly raised with “private” money, such as the support of Netflix in the pre-purchase, which I thank for the trust.

Winning these César awards will certainly be a blessing, but also a call to French cinema and all French and regional commissions to support more talents and their producers with original proposals.“

Against big machines released over the Christmas holidays like Wonka, Aquaman 2, The Three Musketeers: Milady, Wish and Migration, Vermines managed to weave its web and attract a large audience, while two César nominations should convince new viewers. Rush to the cinemas to discover the film.

Harry Translator concludes:What still amazes me after watching this movie dozens of times is how effective it is. It certainly helps to talk about it with those around you. So talk about it! And I hope that the members of the César Academy will vote for Vermines as the symbol of a new proposal in French cinema.”

pest It’s currently in theaters.