Stéphane (2023)
Limited Edition English · Blu-ray

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Skilfully blending elements of Mark Duplass’ Creep with 1992’s Man Bites Dog, alongside mis-matched buddy movies such as The Cable Guy, Stéphane is a darkly comic thriller set in the world of amateur film-making that is as bleakly funny as it is disturbingly twisted.

When Tim (Bastien Garcia), a committed and aspiring filmmaker, encounters the eccentric Stéphane (Lucas Pastor), it seems like a match made in heaven. Stéphane claims to be an experienced SFX supervisor and stuntman who quickly impresses Tim with his home-made pyrotechnics. The two men decide to embark on a journey to Stéphane’s private island to film an ambitious World War II epic, along with Stéphane’s acquaintance, a selective mute refugee actress named Bianca (Eva Gregorieff). But as Tim and Stéphane’s movie-making odyssey develops, it soon becomes apparent that neither of them may be what they claim, and tensions quickly escalate.

Part found-footage, part sinister thriller and part self-reflexive black comedy, Stéphane is punk filmmaking at its finest, right up until the final, chilling post-credits scene.