Coûte que coûte

The basis of the capitalist system is free entrepreneurship. Anyone who discovers a gap in the market is basically allowed to fill it. That is not as simple as it seems, as is clear from the statistics: within one year after their establishment, many new companies have disappeared again. Co–te que co–te follows the development of one such company, a catering firm which prepares fresh meals with the intention to sell them to large supermarkets. The idea came to mind of an associate of the Tunisian embassy. He resolutely starts the firm, he hires employees, and he waits for customers. Soon, business appears to be slower than expected. Some workers have to be fired. The five remaining employees and their boss continue to fight hard for the survival of the company. Filmmaker Claire Simon considered these people's struggle to keep afloat a suitable subject for a documentary: "It is a topical and everyday story with both dramatic and comic aspects." She was particularly interested in the human aspect, not so much in the economic implications. Simon paid six visits to the company, always at the end of the month, when the decision was taken to keep going for another month or to quit. It is this dramatic question that keeps the film enticing until the end.