Five FrightFest Facts with Lisa Delamar of ‘Survive’

Like it or not, the have curtains closed on another successful year of Pigeon Shrine FrightFest. During the five day event, audiences were left buzzing about the gripping, post-apocalyptic thriller Survive. Directed by Frederic Jardin, this film plunges a family into an unimaginable nightmare after the Earth’s magnetic poles suddenly invert.

At the heart of this intense drama is Lisa Delamar, who shines in her first feature film role as Cassie, one of the key characters battling to survive in a world turned upside down. A talented young actress, Lisa brings a captivating presence to the screen, drawing on her diverse background and years of dedication to her craft. Having grown up between France, the US, and the UK, Lisa is fluent in both English and French, with a knack for slipping into different accents and roles with ease. Survive marks a significant milestone in her burgeoning career, and her performance has already garnered attention at FrightFest.

We caught up with Lisa to talk about her experience on set, her journey into acting, and her thoughts on the horror genre.

Lisa Delamar, actor

1. Tell us about your film

Lisa Delamar: I play Cassie in Survive by Frederic Jardin. This film centers on a French-American family of four—Tom, Julia, and their two children, Cassie and Ben—who must fight for survival after the sudden inversion of the magnetic poles. While enjoying a holiday on their yacht in the middle of the ocean, their vacation takes a dramatic turn when the poles invert, causing the ocean to violently retreat and leaving them stranded on the vast, deserted ocean floor. As they struggle to survive in this harsh, post-apocalyptic landscape and face the dangerous creatures that now inhabit it, they must fight to stay alive while contending with the looming threat of the poles inverting again.

Survive was shot in Morocco between October and November 2022, and just had its French premiere back in June. I’m very excited to be representing it at FrightFest for its UK premiere before its nationwide release in September.

2. How did you get into making movies?

Lisa Delamar: Growing up, I started acting early on with local theatre classes, and by organizing little play projects where I’d dress up with friends and invent a play to showcase to our parents. I realized that I wanted to be an actress when I was twelve thanks to an English teacher who encouraged me, and my family has always been very supportive. I worked on my acting and started doing short films right after graduation, and had been doing castings for a few years when I found the open casting call for Survive. This is my first feature film role, so it’s really special to me, and I feel very lucky to come to FrightFest with it this year.

3. What film would you love to see screened at FrightFest and why?

Lisa Delamar: We keep joking with the cast of Survive about a sequel—Survive II: The Revenge of the Crabs, or something like that. It would be fun to see that screened at FrightFest one day! On a more serious note, I love that FrightFest includes horror classics alongside new releases, like A Nightmare on Elm Street this year. I’d love to catch up on all the classics I haven’t seen yet, like Rosemary’s Baby or The Exorcist. I’m a recent convert to horror, so my watchlist is pretty embarrassing! It would be amazing to experience these films in such great conditions and surrounded by true horror buffs.

4. If you could create your own award to give at FrightFest, what would it be and why?

Lisa Delamar: I would create an award for Best Scream. There have always been memorable screams and iconic scream queens that have shaped the horror genre like Janet Leigh in Psycho or Sheryl Lee in Twin Peaks. I had to scream a fair bit in Survive, and I have a renewed respect for the actors and actresses who make such an art form out of it.

5. If your life was made into a horror film, what would it be called and who would play the starring role?

Lisa Delamar: I think Anya-Taylor Joy would have the role of a lifetime in The Vanishing Phone, a film about a young woman who starts to doubt her sanity because she keeps losing her phone, every single day.

Lisa Delamar’s performance in Survive has certainly left an impression on FrightFest audiences, and her enthusiasm for the horror genre is infectious. As she steps into the spotlight with her first feature film role, we can’t wait to see what’s next for this rising star.