A thriller shot in semi-documentary style, Eat Your Bones chronicles the goings-on in a Roma community in the North of France starring local non-professional actors.
Eighteen-year-old Jason Dorkel belongs to a community of Yeniche gypsies, a nomad people from Northern France. He is about to celebrate his baptism when his half-brother Fred returns after fifteen years in prison. Together with their brother, the violent, hot-headed Michael and their Christian activist cousin, Moise, they set off on a binge in search of a cargo of copper. Their plans are gradually thwarted by Fred’s ineptness and their own constant infighting, leading to a denouement that heads straight into thriller territory.
»Mange tes morts (‘eat your dead’) is the worst insult you can say to a Gypsy. There’s no equivalent in the gadjo world. Once it’s been uttered, it can lead to all kinds of drama because it implies that you’ve renounced your ancestors. /.../ Anyone who eats their words, or eats the memory of his ancestors, can’t call himself a man. /.../ There’s something about the travellers I’ve filmed that’s always battling. To never be a sheep. To never give in. As Fred’s always saying, it’s better to be the butcher than the beef.” (Jean-Charles Hue)
Jean-Charles Hue
Born in 1968 in Eaubonne, a commune in the suburbs of Paris. Since 2003, Hue has been shooting the adventure of the Dorkels’, a Yeniche family living in the North of France and belonging to the travelling community. In 2009, he directed his first documentary feature, Carne Viva, in which he explored Tijuana’s urban mythology. His first fiction film, The Lord’s Ride, was released in 2010. He is based in Paris.
filmography
2006 Pitbull Carnaval (documentary short)
2007 L'oeil de Fred (documentary short)
2008 Y'a plus d'os (documentary short)
2009 Carne Viva (documentary)
2010 La BM du seigneur (The Lord's Ride)
2014 Mange tes morts (Eat Your Bones/Požri svoje prednike)