THE BLOW
THE BLOW
La frappe
France, 2026, DPC, color, 105’
GOLDEN OLIVE
European Feature Film Competition
➔ TUE 10 NOV | 9:00 PM | SCREEN 3
Direction: Julien Gaspar-Oliveri
Screenplay: Julien Gaspar-Oliveri, Claudia Bottino
Cinematography: Martin Rit
Editing: Baptiste Petit-Gats
Cinematography: Léa Cammarata
Music: Delphine Malausséna
Costumes: Floriane Gaudin
Cast: Diego Murgia (Enzo), Bastien Bouillon (Anthony), Romane Fringeli (Carla), Héloïse Volle (Laura), Sophie Cattani, Manon Clavel, Carole Franck, Florence Janas
Producer: Marc-Benoît Créancier
Production: Easy Tiger
World Sales: Charades
Nineteen years old Enzo and his sister Carla have been on their own for several years. When their father is released from prison, Enzo hopes to rebuild their family, but Carla refuses to reconnect. With his father suddenly back and once again a central figure in his life, Enzo is forced to confront the long buried truth.
“I love skin in cinema, and therefore films without makeup or hairstyling. There’s none of that on my shoots. The actors are there with their skin. My cinematographer, a great lover of film stock who was devastated when we switched to digital, added a lens to our cameras to approximate 16mm and obtain an image that was less smooth, more grainy. And I chose actresses and actors who could feel documentary-like rather than “actorly.” I seek immediacy between them and the camera. That’s why I remove every notion of preparation, hair and makeup. There’s no clapperboard either, no rehearsal — only a desire to shoot immediately. I have a technical crew that follows this instinct with me: we film the moment when the actor searches, just as the character searches. In a way, every shot is a documentary about the search for the scene.”
Julien Gaspar-Oliveri trained at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art in Paris. He acts in and directs theater productions while also beginning a career in film by making several short films. Villeperdue, a medium-length film, marks a turning point in his career. The film received strong critical acclaim and was released in cinemas. In L’âge tendre, he portrays a lost teenage girl. This film was nominated for a César Award for Best Fiction Short Film. In 2024, he directed Ceux qui rougissent, a mini-series for Arte of which he is the creator, writer, and performer, featuring 11 young apprentice actors. It competed at the Série Mania festival and won the award for Best Series; it was also selected at Cannes Séries. The Blow is his first feature film. In 2026, he staged his play La Gueule Ouverte at the Théâtre National de la Commune in Aubervilliers.
2013 Passe (short)
2016 Villeperdue (medium)
2017 Tomber du camion (short)
2019 Le rêve de Mila (medium)
2020 L’âge tendre (short)
2021 Marianne (short)
2024 Le Refuge: La Lettre (video)
2024 Ceux qui rougissent (TV series)
2025 L’absent, dans le coeur de Piche (short)
2026 La frappe (The Blow)
2026 Festival di Cannes – Semaine de la Critique, Special Screening