Experiencing Interruptions?

Off Season

After the death of his wife, Louis, 75 years old, returns to the vacation resort he used to visit with her.
In the off-season, lost in the crowd of seniors and retirees, Louis waits for the end of his life to arrive.
His chance meeting with Samuel, a new resort employee, brings Louis back to life for a while.
As they share a fondness for sailing and literature, the two characters begin to know each other.

  • Didier Soubrier
    Director
  • Didier Soubrier
    Writer
  • Didier Soubrier
    Producer
  • Audrey Chambon
    Producer
  • Joël Cudennec
    Key Cast
    "Louis"
  • Karim Ait M’Hand
    Key Cast
    "Samir"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Hors Saison
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 19 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 31, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    275,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    France
  • Country of Filming:
    France
  • Language:
    French
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1,66
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Didier Soubrier

Didier SOUBRIER graduated from the Louis Lumière National Film School (France) in 1990. He is French of Vietnamese descent.

As he was directing short films ("L’appartement" 1992, "Les Couleurs du Printemps" 1995), he simultaneously began a career as Director of Photography and Camera Operator on feature films, working with french directors such as Manuel Poirier, Laurent Bénégui, Christian Zerbib and many others.

An independent filmmaker with a creative sensibility, he started the production company, Entre Chien et Loup in 1998, producing young and promising directors of short films, as well as corporate movies.

The editorial line of entre Chien et Loup is reinforced by documentaries that Didier Soubrier is producing or directing since 2008.

Mixing all of his knowledge from writer/director's (auteur) films, the language of cinematography, and multiple shoots for narrative film, TV and documentaries, his directing style has been shaped by 20 years of passion and experience.

OFF SEASON (HORS SAISON) is Didier Soubrier’s first feature film.

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Director Statement

Near the end of life, how does one restore meaning, or a direction and purpose in his life?

Louis lets life go by without really taking part in it.
Since the death of his wife, who accompanied him throughout his life, he is bored and can't fill the gaps in his days that are full of deep loss.

Like a buoy in the middle of an ocean in which he drowns,
Samuel allows Louis to cling to life.

The discovery of each other, acceptance, transmission and exchange are at the heart of their relationship.
And Louis, an aging European, discovers the reality of Samuel as an
immigrant child who lives far from his family, with a minor job without qualifications or recognition, and who hides his origins to prevent calling attention to himself.

Louis understands that not everyone has the same chance of achieving success, and decides to leave his place, literally and figuratively (at the helm of the boat) to Samuel, who will finally be able to fulfill himself as Samir.

The escape from social conditions or blockages, and the hope of freedom of choice and personal achievement are the themes that guided me to create a film that speaks to the world of internal imprisonment.

Louis becomes a long-term prisoner, transferred to a
new prison (this sad vacation resort center) amidst others who are detainees and prisoners of their habits. He shares his cell (the boat) with a short-sentence prisoner (Samuel) who will soon be freed and who finds advice and knowledge from Louis to prepare his escape out of his social condition.

Retired people are like prisoners, resort guides are like
guards and the prison (the resort) organizes the activities between them within the walls.

The outside world and hope are represented by the sea, so close and so dangerous. I wanted to use the sea’s symbolism for the attraction and fear that she provides.
Beyond an ultra cinematographic image, it represents a
world in which it is so difficult to navigate without a guide or
knowledge. It moves all the time, knows no borders, and
only its crossing will allow one to know a new world.

This border between land and sea, synonymous with changing light, of a place of joy in summer and of melancholy out of season, will be the theatre of the confrontation and exchange of two worlds. One is declining and losing his landmarks (that of Louis, condemned) and the other is being born and deserving his
place after a long journey (Samir's).

-Didier Soubrier