Roskam's 'Le Faux Soir' Closes San Sebastián Festival
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- "Le Faux Soir" has been set as the closing night film of the 74th San Sebastián Film Festival (Sept. 18–26), screening out of competition in the Official Selection after a world premiere in Toronto's Special Presentations.
- The film is set in Nazi-occupied Belgium in 1943 and follows Resistance fighters who produce a counterfeit edition of national daily Le Soir — duplicating its paper, nameplate and format to mock the German occupiers — an operation the source describes as "the world's first media hack."
- Arieh Worthalter leads the ensemble, joined by Mélanie Thierry, Karim Leklou, Mara Taquin, Bouli Lanners, Julien Frison and François Damiens.
- "Le Faux Soir" is produced by Belgium's Frakas Productions and Harbor Men Pictures with France's Rectangle Productions; Goodfellas handles international sales and Cinéart releases in Benelux.
- Michaël R. Roskam returns to San Sebastián 12 years after his U.S. crime drama "The Drop" (Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini) won the festival's Jury Prize for Best Screenplay in 2014.
- Roskam wrote the screenplay with Bernard Falaise co-credited on dialogue, loosely adapting Marie Istas' book "Le 'faux' Soir, 9 novembre 1943"; his previous credits include an Oscar-nominated debut "Bullhead" and Apple TV+'s "Black Bird."
Why it matters: Closing-night berths at an A-list European festival typically sharpen international-sales traction, and the "world's first media hack" framing gives Goodfellas a distinctive pitch heading into the fall buyers' market. For Roskam, the slot also marks a return to San Sebastián 12 years after "The Drop" and to European feature filmmaking after stints directing U.S. TV ("Black Bird") and Hollywood casts.
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