New Gay Drama EASTERN BOYS to Open 2/27 at Film Society of Lincoln Center

Arriving from all over the Eastern Bloc, the men who loiter around the Gare du Nord train station in Paris are scraping by however they can, forming gangs for support and protection, ever fearful of being caught by the police and deported. When the middle-aged, bourgeois Daniel played by Olivier Rabourdi approaches a boyishly handsome Ukrainian who calls himself Marek for a date, he learns the young man is willing to do anything for some cash. What Daniel intends only as sex-for-hire begets a home invasion and then an unexpectedly profound relationship. The drastically different circumstances of the two men's lives reveal hidden facets of the city they share.

Presented in four parts, this absorbing, erotically charged drama from writer-director Robin Campillo is centered around anonymous liaisons, in which motivation, risk, and desire produce volatile and unexpected consequences.

Robin Campillo is a Moroccan born French screenwriter, director and editor. He made his directorial debut with The Returned (2004), a zombie film. A frequent collaborator of Laurent Cantet, Campillo and Cantet co-wrote Time Out (2001), Heading South (2005), and Palme d'Or Winner The Class (2008).

Director's Statement: "Far from casting judgment on the situation of illegal immigrants, or from being a reflection on paternity, this film first and foremost follows the logic of its fictional narrative. It portrays characters living clandestinely who represent both a danger and a promise for one another. Much like Daniel who, when faced with these young men from the East, oscillates between fear and desire, the film threads its way through ambiguous feelings, borderline, indeed marginal situations, but also, I do hope, through moments of pure jubilation." - Robin Campillo

Watch the trailer below!

Eastern Boys
2013, 128 mins, French, Russian, Ukranian and English w/ English Subtitles, Digital
Written, Directed, and Edited by Robin Campillo
Producers: Hugues Charbonneau & Marie-Ange Luciani
Cinematography: Jeanne Poirie
Music by Arnaud Rebotini?