Yann Mounir Demange quite literally blasted onto the scene back in 2014 with his feature debut about a stranded British soldier (Jack O’Connell) with nowhere to hide, but to move forward in a hostile Belfast circa 1971 (hence the provenance of the film’s title ’71). Born in Paris to a French mother and an Algerian father, the filmmaker would establish himself in the British film scene before Hollywood came knocking and yet we feel that it’s with his short, Dammi where we find the filmmaker at his most personal. Launched at 2023 Locarno Film Festival (with a trip to TIFF shortly after), this professional palette cleanser (before he sets off to make Blade) brings him back to his roots, and this is mostly due to a creative partnership formed with Rosa Attab (producer on Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here).… Read the rest
