“Our Missing Sons,” a politically charged French mystery series inspired by true events, is making its international market debut at this year’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre ahead of its premiere at the Festival de las Fiction in La Rochelle.
Directed by Safy Nebbou and sold internationally by France TV Distribution, “Our Missing Sons” is based on the novel “Les Disparus des Argonnes” by Julie Pey, who also penned the script along with Nebbou and Mary Arnaud.
The four-part series, produced by Studio 14 Films, follows Jocelyne Veyrades (played by Alix Poisson) as she grapples with the mysterious disappearance of her son Gilles while on leave from the military. Convinced that he did not simply desert, as his military superiors and local police assume, she begins her own investigation, only to discover that other young men serving in the military have also gone missing in the region. Yet Jocelyne keeps hitting a wall of indifference from the military and authorities. Despite the obstacles, she joins forces with other families and takes her case to the public.
“‘Our Missing Sons’ stands out through the strength of its writing, the precision of its direction, and the exceptional performance of Alix Poisson, who previously starred in Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s ‘Those Who Lived’ and ‘Sambre,’” said Julia Schulte, France TV Distribution’s director of international sales.
“Inspired by true events and set in the 1980s, the series resonates powerfully with many of today’s societal issues. With striking realism, what begins as a seemingly ordinary criminal investigation gradually unfolds into a much deeper exploration of social and family taboos surrounding the sexual abuse of men. At its heart lies the relentless struggle of a mother who refuses to give up until the truth is revealed, standing against institutions largely ruled by men. It is a universal story that will speak to buyers and audiences around the world.”
Having a woman and mother as the protagonist offered a different and welcomed perspective, Nebbou told Variety.
“I loved the idea of putting this woman at the center of the story. She has something of an Erin Brockovich quality to her. She’s a fighter. She’s stubborn, determined, and she refuses to accept what she’s being told.
“The army says her son has deserted. But for her, that’s simply impossible. She knows her son. And she holds on to this very simple, almost instinctive belief: A son doesn’t just abandon his mother. So in a way, the investigation is born from that conviction. Everyone else is telling her to accept the official version and move on, and she’s the one person who says, ‘No. Something is wrong.’ And that’s where our story really begins,” the writer-director said.
Peyr’s book was inspired by the real case of the disappeared of Mourmelon, in which a number of young men, most of them military conscripts, went missing over several years in the 1980s.
“We were very much inspired by the Mourmelon case, particularly by the general dynamics of what happened, but we also moved quite far away from the actual facts,” Nebbou said.
“We took that reality as a starting point, and then invented a great deal. The same is true of Julie Peyr’s novel.
“It was really the initial spark for the project, but as we developed the series, we gradually freed ourselves both from the real case and from the book, and began to create our own story, with our own characters and twists.”
The series’ cast includes Mehdi Nebbou, Vincent Deniard, Anne Charrier, Cyril Lecomte, Félix Moati, Camille Claris, Xaverine Lefevre and Isabelle Côte-Willem.
“Our Missing Sons” is among France TV Distribution’s top titles at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous, which runs Sept. 7-10.