THE DRIFTERS is in virtual cinemas 3rd April & on demand 5th April 2021, and in the US on SVOD streamer Urbanflix.
Synopsis: THE DRIFTERS is a story about love on the run and a snapshot of the lives of two migrants told over one hot summer weekend.
Koffee is an illegal migrant from West Africa who has spent most of his life on the run. Fanny is a young French woman with a troubled past looking for adventure.
Both live in London, drifting from place to place, job to job, living on the margins, making the most of life, despite having little money and facing an uncertain future. They meet at an English language school.
Fanny dreams of going to Los Angeles to find Quentin Tarantino, whom she once met in Paris, to kick start her acting career. Koffee, who works illegally in a car wash, comes under pressure from his boss Dog to take part in a motorcycle heist in return for a stolen passport and his freedom. After the botched heist, Koffee escapes to the coast with some stolen jewellery and a gun. Fanny agrees to go with him, not knowing about his part in the robbery.
At the beach, they get to know each other over a few days while Fanny decides if they will go to America together. But,this goal will be a fantasy for both of them, in different ways.
Fanny has the freedom to go but keeps putting it off. Koffee realises he may only have a few days of freedom left before the events of the robbery catch up with him. He chooses to spend them living just how he wants and this means being with Fanny, whatever the cost.
When Doog finds them, the end comes suddenly, and with violence, but not without hope.
THE DRIFTERS is Benjamin Bond’s directorial debut, and the story has a long personal history for him. He explains:
“Ten years ago, even before the migration crisis dominated the political and media landscape in Europe, I was increasingly interested in ideas around freedom of movement,” he says.
“I had spent some time in Senegal working on the music concert ‘Africa Live’ for PBS. I met a lot of West African musicians and spoke to a lot of local people, there were so many young people leaving Africa on foot. That’s a big story now but it wasn’t then. I became interested in the disparity between where I could go and what I could do versus people who couldn’t even leave their countries.”
So a few years ago, he picked up the issue again from a different angle:
“What if one of these adventurers had made it all the way to the UK? How would their life look and what if we could tell that story without them having any psychological baggage, they were just getting on with it. Would that be refreshing? And let’s say they fell in love with someone who was free to go where they wanted. That was the germ of THE DRIFTERS.”
THE DRIFTERS is released in Virtual UK Cinemas from 3 April and on demand 5 April 2021
