GamblersFrance
2005, 85min.
 Script/Dir.: Frédéric Balekdjian, Dir. of Phot.: Pierre Milon, Prod. Design: Catherine Keller, Sound: Ludovic Hénault, Edit.: Mike Fromentin, Prod.: Fabienne Vonier.
Cast: Pascal Elbe, Simon Apkarian, Isaak Sharry, Linh Dan Pham, Teng Fei Xiang, Gerard Papasian.
This film is set in a part of Paris where there are still plenty of medium-sized businesses to be found, where men and women work extremely hard in return for a tiny wage. It's almost Christmas and things have taken a decidedly downward turn in Vahe Krikorian's life. The shop where Vahe works belongs to his father - but he will soon have to close on account of too many debts and unpaid bills. Lu Ann, the woman with whom Vahe is in love, has already left the business. And then, one day, Lu Ann's brother, Yuen, appears. He has come to France as an illegal immigrant and is now refusing to work for the human traffickers that smuggled him into the country. Realising just how dangerous things can get for Yuen, Vahe decides to help him. Yuen and Vahe come into contact with each other and, day-by-day, their friendship grows. Vahe's new friendship sorely tries his feelings of loyalty to his old buddies and, eventually, he decides to turn his back on them.
Awards
Manfred Salzgeber Award (Berlin IFF, 2005). | Balekdjian, Frédéric Frédéric Balekdjian (born 1964, Le Raincy, France)
In 1984 he entered the film section of the Louis Lumière Schoolin Noisy-le-Grand. He also attended a theatre school for two years, and worked as a cameraman and theatre director before he began writing and directing films. His early short films are: Hors saison (1990) and Tout ce temps que je n’ai pas passé dans les cafés (1995). His first long feature film, released in 2005, is Gamblers (Les mauvais jouers), which Balekdjian both wrote and directed. Set in Paris’s textile workshop district, the film was shot entirely with a hand-held camera. In 2005 it was screened at the Edinburgh IFF and at the Berlin IFF where it was awarded the Manfred Salzgeber Prize; in the judges’ words, the film “succeeds in treating the subject of illegal immigration and cultural displacement through an innovative form and original vision.”
Filmography
Hors saison (1989), Tout ce temps que je n'ai pas passé dans les cafés (1995), Gamblers (2005), Un monde à nous (2008).
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