The Palme d’Or and César for the best short film with Alexis MANENENTI is available on Arte

The true story of the man who was not silent made noise at the César 2025 ceremony.

Directed by Nebojša Slijepčevićthe best fictional short film by César makes us travel aboard a train in the middle of the Bosnian landscape at war Before stopping suddenly for an identity check. Men in uniform invade the wagons. In a sound atmosphere punctuated by the cries, there is a dark atmosphere. Tight plans and a palette of cold colors quickly give way to an agonizing camera.

In the main compartment, rather narrow, one of the travelers does not have its papers. Suspected of being Muslim and threatened by a particularly nervous soldier, perfectly embodied by Alexis MANENTENTI who makes us pale (a violent effervescence he already had in The miserable of Ladj ly). Will one of the passengers have the courage to intervene? The man who was not silent offers us dizzying introspection in a daring reversal!

The short film is inspired by a historical fact: The 1993 Štrpci massacre Where 24 Bosnian Muslims were murdered by a group of Serbian soldiers, the white eagles. He tells the story of Tomo Buzov, a non -Bosnian traveler, played by Dragan Mićanović,, “The man who could not remain silent”. A freezing work that deeply echoes the news.

Nebojša Slijepčević is both the director and screenwriter of this drama. Specialist in the former Yugoslavia and his conflicts, the 52-year-old had already produced two documentary feature, hailed by critics and winners of numerous international prizes: Srbenka (2018) and Gangster of Love (2013). The cast of this new fiction brings together Dragan Mićanović (Sworn enemies),, Goran Bogdan (Otac) Who plays Dragan and finally, Alexis MANENTENTI, the main soldier of the film. An interesting role for the one who took his first steps in the cinema with the collective Kourtrajmé By playing in the first works of Kim Chapiron and Romain Gavras. Known for his roles in The Vinca Curie affair (2023) and Glorious acceptance speech From Nicolas Chauvin (2018), the actor was a resounding success for his performance in The miserable (Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2019), a short film originally. On this occasion, he won the César for best male hope from 2020. The actor is currently at the cinema in The Mohican.

Multiplying the awards, The man who was not silent was first unveiled on the occasion of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival before leaving with the Golden palm of the short film. Its success does not stop there since after having been Oscars namedhe won the César for the best fictional short film.

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