Mammuth

Benoit Delépine and Gustave Kervern acquired their skills and knowledge working on television for 15 years, by writing and performing sketches. The former learned his skills on the programs Guignols de l’Info and Groland (both satires), and the latter on the program Le plein de Super (a rock and roll program).
They met each other whilst working together on the program Grolandsat, a liberal production which allowed them to test new narrative techniques, while at the same time allowing them to produce more elaborate short stories.
They worked together on Toc Toc Toc, a comedy series which gave them the opportunity to meet Maurice Pialat, who would encourage them to move into cinema, and Don Quichotte de La Revolucion, a road movie about an anarchist biker who is accompanied by a pizza-delivery boy on a moped.
For their first film as directors, Aaltra (shown at numerous international film festivals), they wanted to show a side of life which is often missing in productions nowadays, teaming up professional actors with everyday people. They wanted to combine both visible and invisible camera styles, scripted and improvised dialogue, always exploiting, to the maximum, the locations and the characters they encountered during the production. As such, meeting Aki Kaurismaki was a seminal moment in their lives.
Their first feature film was critically acclaimed and well received by the audience, encouraging them to continue their collaboration with Avida, a metaphysical, absurd and surrealistic comedy presented at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival in official selection, out-of-competition.
Louise-Michel was their third feature film as writers-directors.
Benoit Delépine, born 1958. Gustave Kervern, born 1962.