Private Project

François

This film is based on the incredible true story of Jean, a young French Algerian boy, who joins the French army for a better life and finds himself at the heart of the seismic events of the twentieth century. 

His extraordinary journey starts in Tunisia as WWII breaks out. He is captured, beaten and starved at the notorious POW camp Stalag, before making a daring escape. On the run, he survives three days clinging to the underside of a train and is found unconscious in Strasbourg by the French Resistance.

Subsequently, Jean joins the Resistance and soon becomes a highly respected figure, taking part in many audacious missions, risking his life to plan and lead sabotage operations on key German infrastructure targets and vital logistics links.

When his picture appears in a local newspaper, Jean is discovered and compelled to flee once again. He evades capture, crossing the Pyrenees in treacherous conditions that claim the lives of many of his comrades, but Jean makes it through Spain to Portugal, where he finally meets up with allies who arrange for him to be flown to England, where he is to teach Free French cadets. In a strange twist of fate, one of Jean’s students turns out to be the son of French leader Charles De Gaulle.

Ultimately, Jean is awarded one of the French Army’s highest military medals in recognition of his service to France. A high-octane story of heroism, courage and one man’s rise from humble beginnings to play an astonishing role, fighting for the freedom of his country.

  • Ross Syner
    Director
  • Ben Keen
    Writer
  • Ross Syner
    Writer
  • Dan François-Smith
    Writer
  • Ben Keen
    Producer
  • Ross Syner
    Producer
  • Dan François-Smith
    Producer
  • Dan François-Smith
    Key Cast
    "Jean François "
  • George Taylor
    Key Cast
    "Willhelm Schmidt "
  • Chris Kaye
    Key Cast
    "Manfred Muller "
  • Iuean Coombs
    Key Cast
    "Ralf "
  • Becky Fowler
    Key Cast
    "Brigitte"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Other
  • Genres:
    Drama, True Story, Period
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, RED, Gemini, 5k
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Birmingham Film Festival
    Birmingham
    United Kingdom
    November 8, 2019
    Best Costume
  • Wales International Film Festival
    Wales
    United Kingdom
    September 23, 2019
    Best Screenplay in festival
  • Gold Movie Awards
    London
    United Kingdom
    January 9, 2020
    Best Costume
Director Biography - Ross Syner

I have been creating video content across various different platforms for 4 years. Within those 4 years I have gone from small local music videos to international TV adverts and working with record labels such and Universal, BMG, Warner, Snakefarm and Spinefarm.

I co-own and operate a production company called Mockingbird Film Co’ since 2015.

My passion is story telling and through my experience in mainly the music industry, I'm actively writing and developing projects in conjunction with the team at Mockingbird to pitch to TV execs, streaming services and major studios.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

François is my first feature screenplay and I'm immensely proud that we've been successful in gathering funding to produce the concept.
In the space of 12 months we wrote a feature length screenplay, created an investment opportunity, presented the opportunity, secured funding, planned and filmed the concept and edited ready for the 2019 festival season.

I'm very happy with the outcome of this proof of concept and have absolute confidence in it's ability to attract feature length production budget.