Jean-Pascal Zadi adapts a book by Boris Vian

Actor-director Jean-Pascal Zadi tackles a monument of French literature. He is adapting Boris Vian‘s sulphurous novel J’irai cracher sur vos tombes. A daring undertaking, it promises a contemporary reading of a tale marked by revenge and controversy.

An actor turned director

Following his success with Tout simplement noir (2020), in which he explored racial issues in France with humor and self-mockery, Jean-Pascal Zadi has gone from strength to strength. With his outstanding roles(En Place, L’Amour ouf, Le Procès du chien) and surprising cinematic proposals, he has carved out a singular place for himself on the French film scene.

As he finalizes his science-fiction film La Mission de l’Espace, he embarks on a major project. To reinterpret a novel that shook up the 40s and 50s.

A novel at the heart of scandal

Published in 1946 under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan, I’ll Spit on Your Graves tells the story of Lee Anderson. This light-skinned black man seeks to avenge his lynched brother by infiltrating white society in the American South. Deemed immoral and subversive, the book was banned in 1948.

In 1959, a first film adaptation by Michel Gast provoked a shock: Boris Vian, furious with the result, collapsed at the preview and succumbed to a heart attack.

A new, reinvented adaptation

Directed by Jean-Pascal Zadi, this retelling will be transposed to the French West Indies and penned by screenwriter Carine Chassol. Scheduled for 2026, the filming promises a new cultural and social approach to the original text. It will preserve its powerful message against racism and injustice.

Also read: HER DIOR: Maria Grazia Chiuri’s committed documentary