If there is one person Matthew Lancit can’t get out of his mind, it is his uncle Harvey. Dark rings around his eyes, pale, blind, his legs amputated. Like Harvey, the filmmaker also suffers from diabetes. He has the disease under control, but one question is always nagging at him: How much longer? His long-term (self-)observation reliably revolves around fears of infirmity and mutilation. He translates the feared body horror into film, stages himself as a zombie, vampire, a desolate figure. Lancit playfully anticipates his potential decline, serving up a whole arsenal of effects which – as video recordings prove – go back to his youth. It is not for nothing that the “dead” in the title is also reminiscent of “dad.” Because “Play Dead!” also negotiates his own role as a father.
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Matthew Lancit Director · Armel Hostiou Cinematographer Ariane Mellet Editor
First release October 8, 2023 · Produced in France · Languages English, French
Production
ARTE
Production
TAJINE STUDIO
Production
France
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Fais le mort !
Original language
French
Spoken on screen
English · French
Release dates
Germany · October 8, 2023
Premiere
No release date listed for United States.
France
March 12, 2024 · TV · arte (La lucarne)
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