L'Air de la mer rend libre
(Digital)

Plaza Mayor Company Ltd presents the soundtrack to the film L'air de la mer rend libre (You Promised Me The Sea), directed by Nadir Moknèche and composed by Samy Thiébault..

Plaza Mayor Company Ltd presents the soundtrack to the film L'air de la mer rend libre (You Promised Me The Sea), directed by Nadir Moknèche and composed by Samy Thiébault..

Festival Francophone d’Angouleme 2023 – Selection

French Brittany, nowadays. Still living at home, Saïd is carrying on a secret affair with Vincent. Unable to confront his family, he accepts an arranged marriage with Hadjira.
She too has given in to her mother’s demands, following a romantic disappointment and trouble with the law. Trapped by their families, Saïd and Hadjira follow their own path to freedom.

Ever since my first films, even though the action took place in Algeria, I've always avoided the idea that the original music could be described as Arabist, and the original compositions belonged to a rather classical repertoire, played on piano solo.
For “You promised me the sea”, I felt the need for a different mood, without necessarily having a preconceived idea of the direction to take. I trusted my instincts, imagining a trumpet/guitar duet for a concert scene, in a fairly rhythmic and light jazz-swing mood, to provide a counterpoint to the rather dramatic color of the story.
It was on this first note that we set out and searched with Samy Thiébault, exchanging ideas intensely to try and find the right tone, the one most in tune with the mood of the film and the emotions the characters are going through.
Samy composed a main theme that runs throughout the film, with variations in tone and instrumentation to suit the mood and changing paths of Saïd, Hadjira and Vincent.
He succeeds in instilling a youthfulness, the youth of the characters, by proposing music that is, in my opinion, unexpected and far removed from the conventions of a contemporary urban story.
The instrumentation, the sound textures and the warmth of the tones all contribute to preserving something embodied, a form of closeness, of reality, which was important for this film.

Nadir Moknèche – Director



Wokism

More info at: Composer Erwann Kermorvant on IMDB