Fogo-Fàtuo and L'Empire du Silence

ended

At JHR Films we are committed to distributing European films that promote and disseminate the culture of different countries in France. Building on our previous collaboration with films de la passerelle (L'homme qui répare les femmes, Thierry Michel, 2016), the production trusted us again to distribute the strong and poignant documentary l'Empire du Silence by the same director. The film was released in French cinemas on 16 March 2022. We acquired the rights to distribute in France the film Feu Follet (Fogo-Fàtuo) presented at the Directors' Fortnight in Cannes in 2022. The Portuguese film is innovative and brings a new genre unknown to the French public. Moreover, João Pedro Rodrigues' film has a strong ecological impact and denounces climate inaction. We released the film on September 14, 2022, close enough to the Cannes festival for word of mouth to have an effect! Film's synopsis : L'Empire du silence : For twenty-five years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been torn apart by a war that has been largely ignored by the media and the international community. The victims are counted in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, and the perpetrators of these crimes are countless: rebel movements, but also armies, those of the Congo and of neighbouring countries... All of them seem to be caught up in a dizzying array of killings, for the sake of power, for the sake of money, in order to monopolise the Congo's wealth with impunity and general indifference. Travelling around the Congo with his camera for thirty years, Thierry Michel has witnessed the struggles, the suffering but also the hopes of the Congolese people. Fogo-Fàtuo : On his deathbed, his royal highness Alfredo, king without a crown, is taken back to distant youth memories and the time he dreamt of becoming a fireman. The encounter with instructor Afonso from the fire brigade opens a new chapter in the life of the two young men immersed in love and desire, and the will to change the status quo.