“Borgo”, a film inspired by a true story which delves into the contradictions of a prison guard in Corsica

Stéphane Demoustier signs a film inspired by a double assassination in Corsica in 2017, in which Hafsia Herzi plays an ambiguous and contradictory prison guard. “Borgo” hits theaters on Wednesday.

Wednesday, April 17, the film is released in French theaters Borgo by Stéphane Demoustier, with Hafsia Herzi in the lead role. This feature film is inspired by a news item which took place in Corsica in 2017, a double assassination for which the sponsors had received information from a prison guard.

Borgo is the name of this penitentiary center located between the city center of Bastia and its airport. This is where Mélissa arrives, with her husband and two children, to take up her new position. The prisoners in her charge are all men, all Corsican. Hostile and suspicious at first, they will end up mutually taming each other: she will first do them small favors, before crossing the red line and giving information to thugs outside.

Realistic about local uses

Stéphane Demoustier is not Corsican, but his film is incredibly realistic about the sometimes tense atmosphere and local customs. “I had the impression that with this story, I had a gateway that legitimized the project, observes the director. It’s the story of a woman who is not Corsican, who arrives there, who does not understand the codes, nor the language or certain customs, and who will try to decipher everything. And I’m like her. I had people who advised me, encouraged me, to bounce off ideas I might have. What interests me when I make a film is to meet a territory and the people who live there.”

“I tried to absorb what I saw, what people told me and the people I met.”

Stéphane Demoustier, director of “Borgo”

at franceinfo

And if Borgo necessarily takes some liberties with the real facts, the character of Mélissa is fascinating. The director never judges or condemns her, leaving the police and justice to deal with it.

Wonderful Hafsia Herzi

To embody this ambiguous and contradictory woman, Hafsia Herzi is once again formidable. “She’s a great actress, it’s easy to work with her, confides Stéphane Demoustier, rave. There is no calculation in her and there is abandon in the character. It’s often a bit of an overused term but it’s true, she totally goes for it.”

“I often told her that she just had to feel things, but that she didn’t need to show them to us. She blended into it while bringing her personality to it, and that s It’s done easily.”

Stéphane Demoustier, director of “Borgo”

speaking about Hafsia Herzi, at franceinfo

The rest of the cast is to match: Michel Fau and Florence Loiret-Caille in almost humorous roles and especially the group of inmates, remarkable, non-professional actors for the most part cast by Julie Allione, who usually works on films by Thierry de Peretti.