Nos Patriotes is a film adapted from the novel "Le Terroriste Noir” (The Black Terrorist) written by Tierno Monénembo and published in 2012. Directed by Gabriel le Bomin, it was released in 2017.
The story unfolds after the French were defeated in the summer of 1940 and tells the story of Addi Ba, a young Senegalese infantry man captured by the Germans and imprisoned in Frontstalag like many of his compatriots at the time. He managed to escape and hid somewhere in the Vosges. Fate put Christine on his path, a teacher who helped him by obtaining false documents. His convictions and his commitment to his country led Addi to participate in the founding of the first Maquis in the region, with other patriots. Maquis is a term used to qualify the first resistance. It was only 60 years after his execution that the French State officially recognized his devotion...
According to the director, the question arose as to the location of the filming, which finally took place in the Vosges.
“Nos Patriotes” was filmed in the Vosges between 2016 and 2017. For several weeks, the film crew travelled the roads of the Vosges looking for suitable landscapes. This also allowed them to gather together nearly 400 local extras. Among them were members of associations such as the "Hattatos", who defend and continue the traditions of the Hautes-Vosges. They were consulted about the making of the scenes with “schlittage” (which is a means of transporting wood using sledges). It was filmed like a documentary. Because of a constant concern for realism, the actors had to be taught how to use the “schlitte” for certain scenes, which requires an original, ancestral technique used in the Vosges.
Following the making and shortly before its official release, three premieres were organized in the Vosges, in Épinal, Vagney and Gérardmer, thanks to the film crew. A premiere dedicated to the extras took place which was an opportunity for them to recount their experience during the filming, in front of their friends or family.
