APC Woos Unifrance Rendez-Vous Buyers with crime drama ‘The Eclipse’

For APC Studios, “The Eclipse,” an atmospheric, procedural mystery thriller set in a rural community on France’s Aubrac plateau, could well offer a winning formula for international buyers at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Le Havre and beyond.

The series turns on a mystery that originates during an evening eclipse when 17-year-old Luca accidentally shoots his girlfriend, Nour. When he leaves to seek help, the young girl disappears. Manue and Johanna, two local women cops, are dispatched on an investigation that will ultimately impact their own families.

Summing up the show, APC states in its tagline: “An effective whodunit taking us to a never-seen-before, magnificent French countryside. The duo of female cops, mothers and friends, turn a small community inside out.”

Emmanuelle Guilbart, APC’s joint CEO and founder, says the company picked up the six-part series “for many reasons,” mainly related to its pedigree. Namely, it was commissioned by France Télévisions and produced by Carma Films, which also produced APC’s 2017 mystery-crime thriller and Netflix hit “The Forest.”

The fact that “The Eclipse” was from the “same producer, same commissioner and the same genre” as “The Forest” made it an attractive acquisition, Guilbart says. “As we had been very successful with ‘The Forest,’ of course, we also have strong expectations for this one.”

Guilbart praises Carma Film’s high production values in its series, something she says is very evident in “The Eclipse.”

Its majestic location in Aubrac, “a very specific countryside in France that is very remote and quite spectacular,” also provides the series with impressive visuals and a foreboding atmosphere.   

While the story is characterized by strange events during the eclipse, it also entails a classic investigation conducted by the two cops, who are not only colleagues but best friends. Things get complicated when the son of one of the officers ends up becoming a suspect.  

“There are a lot of false leads, and you can’t guess who has committed the crime and why,” Guilbart says.

In addition, the series revolves around the lives of teenagers in the community and their very close-knit circle. “The young people, you don’t really know them, even when you are close to them, even when you are a parent. It’s a lot about their secrets.

“Also, I think what broadcasters will like is the fact that you have young-adult characters,” Guilbart adds. “We know that broadcasters are trying to reach younger audiences, but sometimes when they go with a very edgy, young-adult show, it doesn’t work because it’s too different from their regular programs. At least with this one, you have the same tone; it’s not bizarre within the rest of the lineup, but at the same time, there is a real point of view of young people about their lives and about what they think.”

The fact that “The Eclipse” is set outdoors, in a natural environment, rather than in the city, is also a plus, she notes, citing viewer data that indicates younger viewers are drawn to shows about young adults in outdoor nature settings. Indeed, it was a similar formula that led to the success of “The Forest.”

Created and written by Cécile Lorne, Hélène Duchateau and Baptiste Filleul, “The Eclipse” is directed by Franck Brett  (“Balthazar,” “Comme mon fils”). The cast includes Anne Charrier, Claire Keim, Aymeric Fougeron, Eloïse Kafui, Justine Lacroix, Victor Poirier and Hubert Delattre.