On the occasion of the theatrical release of Un Triomphe, DashFUN met its main actor, Kad Merad, accompanied by director Emmanuel Courcol.
After taking under his wing a young violin prodigy in La Mélodie, Kad Merad once again plays mentors in Un Triomphe. This time, he slips into the costume of Etienne, an actor in trouble. To make ends meet, the latter agrees to lead a theater workshop in prison.
Surprised by the inmates’ talents as an actor, he took it into his head to put on a play with them on the stage of a real theater. Then begins a formidable human adventure. Inspired by a true story, Un Triomphe brings together a cast of promising young talents around Kad Merad, such as Pierre Lottin (Les Tuche) or Sofian Khammes (Le Monde est à toi, La Nués).
On the occasion of the film’s release, DashFUN went to meet Kad Merad and director Emmanuel Courcol. From filming in a real prison to the theme of transmission, the two artists engage in an interview that you can find above.
Note that Un Triomphe is inspired by a true story, that of Jan Jönson, a Swedish actor. In 1985, he staged the play “Waiting for Godot” with the inmates of a high security prison. It was Emmanuel Courcol’s producer, Marc Bordure, who spoke about this story to the director.
“Everything had to be reinvented because the Swedish prison environment of the 80s was very far from today’s French prisons. As a simple screenwriter, I blocked a bit and after having beaten around the bush quite a bit, the project is a little fell asleep … Marc only told me: ‘take your time, I’ll keep it for you …’ I came back to him in 2016. I had had time to think, and I suggested that he go back to the project while remaining much more faithful to the news item from which he was inspired “, explains the director.
Un Triomphe has been in theaters since September 1.
