sarah lasry
HÔTEL ACROPOLE
SYNOPSIS
Rivka a une étrange et douloureuse fissure dans le dos depuis la mort de son compagnon. La veille de la dispersion des cendres, Abel, un ami, surgit sans prévenir pour retrouver Rivka dans sa chambre de l’Hôtel Acropole…
SYNOPSIS
Rivka has a strange and painful wound in her back, ever since her partner died. The day before his ashes are scattered, Abel, an old friend, shows up unexpectedly at her hotel room. He needs to revive an old memory between them at the Hotel Acropole...
Équipe
Écrit et réalisé par Sarah Lasry
Avec Judith Zins, Sébastien Houbani et Farida Rahouadj
Production : Charlotte Vande Vyvre et Francesca Betteni-Barnes
de Balade Sauvage Productions
Productrice associée : Christine Gozlan de Thelma Films
Musique originale : Pierre Oberkampf
Directeur de la photographie : Manuel Bolaños
1er assistant camera : Paul Bony
2eme assistante camera : Cassiana Sarrazin
Montage : Guillaume Lillo
Assistant montage : Adrien Da Fonseca
Assistante réalisatrice : Elisa Marcant
Scripte : Iris Chassaigne
Ingénieur du son : Clément Tijou
Perchwoman : Élise Guyonnet
Création fissure et maquillage SFX : David Scherer
Cheffe décoratrice : Margaux Mémain
Assistante décoratrice : Alicia Bellot
Chef électricien : Adrien Dal Bello
Chef machiniste : Tim Jamin
Montage son : Sébastien Savine
Mixage : Simon Apostolou
Étalonnage : Julian Nouveau
Régie : Bettie Boyard, Pierre Neraud, Iris Trystam
Secrétaire de production : Théo Beaudéan
Direction de production : Jaoued Chellah, Léa Perret
Merci à Transpacam, Transpalux, Transpagrip, Nestor
Merci au BAT47, Hervé Bonnet & Sanne Brinkhoff
PARTENAIRES
Avec le soutien en production du Département du Lot-et-Garonne
Procirep & Angoa
FESTIVALS
FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Montréal Canada - July 2025 - World premiere
CINEFANTASY Festival Internacional de cinema fantástico, São Paolo, Brazil - September 2025
PRESS
Film reviews
WARPED PERSPECTIVE: HOTEL ACROPOLE is a complex and stylish body horror by Darren Gaskell
"The quality of the performances from Zins and Houbani, coupled with the uncommon intensity of the overall atmosphere, elevates this unusual relationship mini-drama further even before it unveils a sequence of Cronenberg-esque sexy/gross strangeness as the launching point for the payoff."
"Could Hotel Acropole be expanded into a feature? No doubt. There’s enough of the unexplored in Rivka, Abel and the offscreen, oft mentioned Hugo’s backgrounds to flesh out these people and supply yet more intrigue. As it stands, this exquisitely presented package, gorgeously framed by cinematographer Manuel Bolaños, gets to the heart of the matter in fleet fashion and leaves you with at least one image which won’t be leaving your mind in a hurry."
INBETWEENDRAFTS: Sarah Lasry executes cringe-inducing body horror by Sarah Musnicky
"The passion between Rivka and Abel radiates off the screen, and escalates into Cronenberg-levels of penetration that made me squirm. The metamorphosis of the back wound turning into something yonic adds an extra layer here. Either way, this culmination (and subsequent climax) are effective, paving the way for Rivka’s final release."
EYE FOR FILM: The Chemistry of Triangles - Hôtel Acropole by Paul Risker
"What a film. What a filmmaker," were the impactful words Fantasia's artistic director Mitch Davis chose to describe French filmmaker Sarah Lasry's short film Hotel Acropole. Rivka (Judith Zins), a pregnant woman, is grieving the loss of her husband. Since his death, she has been afflicted by a wound on her back that will not heal. The day before she plans to scatter his ashes, she checks into Hotel Acropole, where a visitor, Abel (Sébastien Houbani), intrudes on her self-imposed isolation.
The filmmaker backs up Davis' hype by creating space for the audience to enter the film and filter it through their own ideas and experiences. Hotel Acropole can be experienced for its visceral horror and eroticism, as well as philosophical and intellectual themes and ideas. It's a film that works on both a conscious and unconscious level and creeps under our skin to leave us with a feeling that can be difficult to articulate. And it's the type of film that quietly rather than bombastically asks each spectator to reckon with its layered narrative."
RUE-MORGUE : Hôtel Acropole review by Deirdre Crimmins
"In the 20-minute short HOTEL ACROPOLE, Sarah Lasry delivers a Cronenberg-esque version of sexy body horror, filtered through her own stylistic lens. The night before services to scatter her late partner’s ashes, a very pregnant Rivka (Judith Zins) runs into an old friend at a hotel. Wracked with grief, her suffering cannot be overlooked. Making internal trauma external, HOTEL ACROPOLE drags the audience through Rivka’s journey with equal doses of pain and pleasure. Beautifully shot and impressively edited."