Some filmmakers work for years before getting a film selected for Cannes or Venice. Many major filmmakers never show a work at one of the prestigious festivals. But for French writer-director David Oelhoffen, his first two feature films have been selected for both Cannes and Venice, respectively. Oelhoffen burst onto the festival scene in 2007, with his debut feature “In Your Wake,” which was selected as part of International Critics Week at Cannes. He took his time on the next project, 2014’s “Far from Men,” but the filmmaker had even more success when the film premiered at Venice and took home three awards.
READ MORE: Venice Film Festival Preview: 20 Most Anticipated Movies
Now, it’s four year’s later, and Oelhoffen’s third film, “Close Enemies,” is getting yet another major world premiere and we have the first look. As we see in the first trailer, “Close Enemies” is set to premiere as part of the competition section of this year’s Venice Film Festival, and follows the story of two men who grew up together in a drug-infested neighborhood. However, as they became adults, their paths diverged. Now, after a drug-deal-gone-wrong, the two men come back into each other’s lives.
“Close Enemies” stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Reda Kateb, Adel Bencherif, Sofiane Zermani, Nicolas Giraud, Marc Barbe, Sabrina Ouazani, Gwendolyn Gourvenec, and Astrid Whettnall. As mentioned, the film is written and directed by Oelhoffen.
“Close Enemies” is set to premiere on September 1 as part of the 75th Venice Film Festival.
Here’s the synopsis:
Born and raised in a suburb ridden by drug trafficking, Manuel and Driss were like brothers. As adults, they have gone down exactly the opposite path: Manuel chose to embrace this thug life, while Driss completely rejected it and became a cop. When Manuel’s biggest deal goes terribly wrong, the two men meet again and come to realize they both need each other to survive in their worlds. Between betrayals and resentments, and despite their hatred, they renew deep ties around the one thing they have left in common: their visceral commitment to the place of their childhood.