Forsaken (French: L'Abandon) is a 2026 French biographical drama film directed by Vincent Garenq, co-written with Alexis Kebbas and Mickaëlle Paty, it's based on the nonfiction book "The Last Days of Samuel Paty" by Stéphane Simon. It stars Antoine Reinartz as Samuel Paty, and follows the last eleven days of the French teacher, who was attacked and killed by an Islamic fundamentalist in Paris in 2020.
The film had its world premiere out of competition of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on 13 May, and was theatrically released in France by UGC on the same day.
Contents
Premise
The film follows the last eleven days of Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher, who was murdered with a knife and beheaded on his way home in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Paris, on 16 October 2020, by a Chechen jihadist, after being defamed on social media by the father of a student for showing Charlie Hebdo's caricatures of Muhammad during a lesson on freedom of expression.
Cast
Antoine Reinartz as Samuel Paty
Emmanuelle Bercot as Victoire Lanion, the school principal
Nedjim Bouizzoul as Kader Saidi
Azize Kabouche as Tahar Amara
Emma Boumali as Bashira Saidi
Diamadoua Sissoko as Omar
Mounira Barbouch as Malika
Marie-Sohna Condé as Firmine
Barbara Bolotner as Colette
Alexandre Blazy as Alain
Emmanuel Lemire as Bernard
Jean-Michel Lahmi as Guislain
Émilie Pierson as Véronique
Pascale Mariani as Isabelle
Camille Levy Brito-Mendes as Thomas
Éric Génovèse
François Pérache
Production
It's produced by Outside Films and Les Films du Kiosque, in co-production with UGC, France 3 Cinéma and Umedia. With the support of Canal+ and La Région Île-de-France, and the participation of Ciné+ OCS and France Télévisions.
The screenplay was written by Vincent Garenq and Alexis Kebbas, in collaboration with one of Samuel Paty's sisters, Mickaëlle Paty, and is loosely based on the investigative book, "Les Derniers Jours de Samuel Paty" (The Last Days of Samuel Paty), written by French journalist Stéphane Simon and published in 2023.
Garenq states that the film didn't seek any physical resemblance between the actors and the people they portray; he did not want to film a copy of reality, but to be as close as possible to the facts.
Filming
Principal photography began on 2 July 2025 in Noisy-le-Roi, in the Yvelines. Shooting wrapped by 4 August.
UGC confirmed that the film was shot in secrecy, its release was announced only a few hours after the verdict in Paty's appeal trial concerning the four men involved in the assassination: "We chose not to communicate in order to give priority to justice and the appeal trial. With the verdict now delivered, we hope that this film will take over, so that the story of Samuel Paty does not fall into oblivion".
Release
The film had its world premiere out of competition of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on 13 May, and was theatrically released in France by UGC on the same day.
Response
Box office
It grossed $5.5 million at the French box office.
