GINKGO BILOBA
2020
rone
In this fanciful dystopia tinged with anticipation, sensuality and excess combine in tune. While Nature overwhelms Humanity, Youth symbolizes the hope of a renewal to come. Until then lost, the souls of the Sacrificed Ones finally leave overconsumption and dilapidated remains to better reincarnate within the Earth. At first filled with fury, the tale ends otherwise fairy. The closing rebirth, embodied by the figure of the Child, which invites the awakening of consciences.
movie stills
explore the making
credits
film-set photography
carte blanche given by rone to bring to the screen
the first single from his 6th album 'room with a view'
Original music ... Rone
Music label ... Infine Records
Film writer-director ... Sarah Al Atassi
Producer ... La Main Productions
Co-producer ... Infine
Script supervisor ... Juliette Moreau
Director of photography ... Evgenia Alexandrova
Sound mixer ... Hugo Deguillard
Chief set decorator ... Pauline Doublier
Costume supervisor ... Avril Lecocq
Make-up artist ... Fiona Rossini
Film editors ... Sarah Al Atassi + Leïla Rannou
Sound editor ... Lucien Richardson
Colorist ... Vincent Amor
Graphic designer ... Sarah Al Atassi as "Kako Al San"
crew
cast
Sacrified sibling ... Sandy Farhi
Sacrified sibling ... Tibo Drouet
Sacrified sibling ... Michel Mhanna Santoni
Master of Ceremony ... Zaïd Sahli
Child ... Joy Lepetit-Farhi
explore the making
To transpose GINKGO BILOBA to the screen, RONE wanted to thwart the joyful harmony of his musical arrangement in order to create a raw but nonetheless hopeful counterpoint, like the bestial kinematics that seduced him in my short film "Fist" (Prend Mon Poing in French).
I found inspiration instantly and wove my creative thinking to shape a hybrid tale in which narrative dreaminess would be counterbalanced by formal radicalism.
This film was tedious to produce because of the particularly unfavorable context for its conception. The team shot in February 2020, at the start of Covid-19 pandemic. A bad timing which unfortunately curbed the project due to the drastic security measures taken by then.
Luckily we wrapped up the shoot on time although the following post-production was clearly shaken since cobbled remotely at home with makeshift means (a configuration far from our initial filmmaking ambition...).