WISTERIA
Director: Samuel Jacob Attias
France, 2023, 57 min
Shooting Format:Digital, Arri Alexa XT
Festival Year:2023
Category:Narrative Feature
Cast:Jasen Wade, Michael Flynn, Violeta Deblieck
Crew:Producer: Laurence Le Rolland. Director/Writter: Samuel Jacob Attias; Direction of Photography: Raphaël Bourdin; Poster Artist: Steven Chorney; Sound mixer: Lucas Rollin; Color Grader: Antoine Ravache; Set Photographer: Ilan Azoulay
Email:samuel.attias@wisteriaprod.com
Synopsis
In this “Baguette Western“ set in Evansville, WY, Jacob, a lonely farmer, sees his life brutally changed after committing the irreparable: the murder of a Native. In a hostile environment where law and order are set by the cold-hearted Marshall Henry, Jacob struggles to redeem himself. Then arrives Wisteria, a Blackfoot wounded woman. A chance for him to finally find peace again.
Wisteria is a revisited drama/romance western. The first ever shot entirely in France.
Trailer
About the director
Born In Paris in 1998, Samuel Jacob Attias left his home when he turned seventeen to study Cinema in Chicago at Columbia College.
A passionate lover of the Golden Age, Samuel directed several shorts and medium films around the theme of family. Among them are “My way” (2019) that tells the story of two brothers struggling with their alcoholic father and “Youth Whispers” (2020), a movie about five different young adults trying to overcome problems in life.
After spending five years in Chicago, Samuel moved to Los Angeles to observe the industry of animation on the show Miraculous: Tales of LadyBug and Cat noir. He also got the chance to access some sets at Raleigh Studio where he explored the universe of screenwriting and personal assistant.
During the pandemic outbreak, he flew back home to France and worked as an intern for six months at Gaumont, the first production company in France and Europe. He has been a script consultant on movies that are currently in theaters like Tirailleurs, Kung-Fu Zohra and Menteur.
In between commercial projects as a freelancer, Samuel organizes his own cinema club, “Rendez Vous with Sam,” in which he invites friends and cinephiles every Tuesday to screen classic movies from the Golden Age and then fosters and mediates discussions about them.
Samuel created his own production company, Wisteria Productions, for his latest project Wisteria, that he wrote and directed: the first Baguette Western ever made.
Filmmaker's note
Wisteria is a love letter to the Western genre, and my chance to create the first Western film in France. Growing up, I was captivated by the illusion created in Westerns, and I wanted to capture that same magic on screen.
Through the characters of Jacob and Wisteria, I wanted to explore the universality of love and the power it has to transcend cultural boundaries. Their story serves as a celebration of love in all its forms. I also wanted to pay tribute to the Golden Age of cinema, and to the power of visual storytelling. By using silence and striking camera movements. I aimed to create a film that speaks to audiences on a deeper level.
“Wisteria“ is a film made with passion and I hope it inspires audiences to believe in the power of love and the magic of cinema.