Free Fall focuses on a man who, during the backdrop of 9/11, loses more than he thinks. Starring Abraham Lewis (I Am Mortal), Vincent Regan (300), Packy Lee (Peaky Blinders) and Bally Gill (Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre Play Macbeth) Winner of the Oscar qualifying Award at Regard – Saguenay International Film Festival. The Hollywood Recorder spoke with director Emmanuel Tenenbaum.
You have been working with Quebec screenwriter Guillaume Fournier for years. Tell us why this story resonated with you.
Because of my background in the corporate world, I am very interested in true office stories, and Guillaume has been very supportive of this. The two shorts we did together were indeed corporate tales. While researching for a new film, we stumbled upon a very interesting story in the extraordinary book Swimming with Sharks, by Dutch writer Joris Luyendijk.
After the 2008 crisis, Joris spent two years interviewing bankers in London, and published a blog for the Guardian. He collected extraordinary, often surreal testimonies (on the condition his insiders would stay anonymous). In the book, one trader in a top bank tells us how he found out before anyone else that the first plane in the World Trade Center was a terrorist attack, and how he made an enormous amount of money for his bank.
It was only at the end of the day that he realized he had friends in the towers. During the whole day, he admits not having thought about them a single second… He was so absorbed in the money game, that he totally forgot about them.
After we had read this passage of the book, it was simply impossible to forget it. We were obsessed with it for days, and we knew we had to make a film about it.
Tell us about FREE FALL.
Tom is a young trader in a London bank, he is going through a rough time because of his low performance and is on the brink of loosing his job. Tom’s luck is about to change when he realizes that what is happening in the United States is a terrorist attack and he decides to bet against the market to win big when the expected collapse happens.
Free Fall is a film about the world of finance and how its run by amorality (e.g there is no judgment whether something is good or bad, as long as it is tradable), but before anything, it is a tale about the cost of putting money before people.
What was particularly important to you directing your film?
Given the sensitive context of the film, it was extremely important to tell a story was truthful and real. Clearly, we only allowed ourselves to tell it because it is based on a true story. In order to make the film real, we studied absolutely every detail that was available. We studied how the markets reacted that day, what TV channels said and how, how much time the traders had to make a decision, and what information they would likely be able to get via a few phone calls… We really spent an enormous amount of time making research.
Why is this film timely?
This year was the 20th anniversary of this tragic event. While the world has changed tremendously after 9/11, ironically, the world of finance not so much. Everything is exactly the same, except we have replaced the screaming, alpha-male traders, by analytical, math-oriented people with an engineering background. Therefore we felt this story was still very relevant.
Tell us about working with cinematographer Antoine Roch.
Antoine Roch was obviously incredibly important to the film. Being a veteran cinematographer, he found the perfect balance between the speed of execution (we had 4 and ½ days for the whole shoot) and a premium look. For this, he designed a 360 degree lighting that would allow us to shoot in every direction, and he would use a stabilizator often. We lacked time but tried to make one “really nice shot” per day, which was always a great moment of concentration on set. For the final look, we opted for a cold, blueish style, that reminds of both of a corporate world, and a story that took place 20 years ago.
What is your mission for FREE FALL?
I think FREE FALL is about the cost of putting money before people. As humans we are easily absorbed in the money game, we forget to be loving, caring, and compassionate. This film can definitely be confronting, but I’m hoping it can help us become better people, even if it’s just a tiny bit.