In the countryside of north-eastern France, farmers and hunters are locked in a bitter conflict. A growing wild boar population is devastating the crops, whilst the local hunting club deliberately feeds the animals so that they can hunt them later. When Brun, a farmer on the brink of bankruptcy, disappears without trace after declaring war on the hunters, police officer Fulda (Alexis Manenti, Les Misérables) is assigned the mysterious case. Together with psychologist Stéphane (Ella Rumpf, Raw), he tries to uncover what really happened.

With L’espèce explosive, Sarah Arnold makes a particularly idiosyncratic debut in which rural drama, crime film, black humour, thriller and even a touch of romance unexpectedly blend together. Behind the mysterious disappearance lies a sharp portrait of a countryside where people and nature are clashing with ever-greater intensity. A delightfully offbeat rural thriller that combines the idiosyncrasy of Alain Guiraudie (Miséricorde) with the absurd, dark humour of Bruno Dumont (P’tit Quinquin). The film had its world premiere at the Quinzaine des Cinéastes in Cannes, where it won the Europa Cinemas Label.