Indochine co-producer Eric Heumann has picked up the director's megaphone for Port Djema, a story based on the real-life experiences of co-writer Jacques Lebas while working as a doctor in Africa.
Pierre Feldman, played by well-known stage actor Jean-Yves Dubois, is a Parisian surgeon who arrives in a former French colony in East Africa knowing little about the bloody civil war that rages between two ethnic groups. Pierre's mission is to take over from Antoine (FrŽdŽric Pierrot), a fellow doctor who ran a dispensary in the heart of rebel territory until he was found murdered in Port Djema.
On his journey, Pierre meets Alice (Nathalie Boutefeu), a photographer intent on capturing the two faces of Africa: breathtaking beauty and horrific violence. But Pierre gradually realises his own homeland also has its dark side. France - the officially neutral bestower of humanitarian aid - is actually supplying both sides in the civil war with arms.
Heumann, producer of 13 films through his own production outfit Paradis Films, found himself directing Port Djema after gradually becoming more and more involved with the project. While producing ThŽo Angelopoulos' Cannes Jury Prize-winner Ulysses' Gaze, he accompanied photographer Joseph Koudelka to shoot stills. Then he scouted for locations in central Africa, before sitting down with Lebas to develop the script.
"I assume that somehow I unconsciously did not leave myself any other choice than to direct the film," he says. "That was how I broke with film producing. It hasn't been easy, but then that kind of thing never is." Not that this is a clean break. The 41-year-old filmmaker is producing Angelopoulos' new film, Eternity And One Day, now shooting in Greece and starring Bruno Ganz (Der Himmel †ber Berlin). "I found out that film directing is more difficult and more exciting than producing," says Heumann. "However, I still like producing and I will keep on doing it." Adam Minns
[Home ] [Content ] [The Sponsors ] [The Team ] [Comments ] [Help ]
