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On June 20, the French film CHASING JOHNNY, which has been nominated for the Golden Goblet Awards at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival’s main competition unit, held a cast meet-and-greet, with director Baptiste Debraux at the event, sharing the production process of this film and how it was conceived.
Compact multilinear narrative
CHASING JOHNNY tells the story of childhood friends returning to their hometown to search for a missing old friend: Johnny, the leader of a town protest movement, goes into hiding after a robbery and becomes wanted by the police; upon hearing this news, his childhood friend Paul rushes back to the town, hoping to find Johnny before the police, and detective Anna is also pursuing the case...
The story unfolds against the backdrop of French towns where numerous factories have been shut down, inspired by director Baptiste Debraux’s childhood experiences. Growing up in a small French town heavily reliant on heavy industry, he witnessed the closure of many factories in the 1980s, leaving a profound impact on him. Therefore, he said, “When I had the opportunity to create a film, I really wanted to tell the stories of these people. I hope viewers can feel the struggles and fights for survival of young people of that era, as well as their hardships, difficulties, and despair.”
The backdrop of factory closures, the main narrative of the mystery missing case, and the deep friendship between the two protagonists intertwine in this work. How to smoothly present these three narrative layers in less than two hours was Baptiste Debraux’s biggest challenge. At the same time, “describing the inner struggles of these characters, displaying their psychological states, and thereby creating a suspenseful atmosphere for the entire film, was also a major difficulty.”
Invite the most suitable performers
CHASING JOHNNY is Baptiste Debraux’s debut feature film. Being nominated for the main competition unit of the Shanghai International Film Festival’s Golden Goblet Awards this time made him exhilarated and honored. Baptiste Debraux stated that excellent performers were a great help to the film’s production: “I am very fortunate to have these fantastic performers to interpret the story, which has led to a good outcome for the film.”
Bastien Bouillon, who won the Best Male Newcomer at the 48th César Awards in 2023, portrays the male lead in this work and he has been a longtime friend of Baptiste Debraux. Baptiste Debraux always wanted his first film to be interpreted by Bastien Bouillon, so he “tailored” a role specifically for him. “In fact, from the moment I started writing this story, the male lead was written for Bastien Bouillon. Our relationship is quite close, and working together to make a movie is smoother and easier.”
Similarly, Léa Drucker, who plays the detective in the film, was also the actress Baptiste Debraux had in mind for this role. Although they did not know each other previously, when Baptiste Debraux created the character, Léa Drucker was the actress who best fit the role in his mind. This collaboration quickly solidified, ultimately yielding results that satisfied him. Indeed, both performers successfully upheld the film, leading CHASING JOHNNY to be nominated for the main competition unit of the Shanghai International Film Festival’s Golden Goblet Awards.