Claude Lelouch to Shoot New Movie ‘Finalement…’ With Cast Including Kad Merad, Elsa Zylberstein, Metropolitan FilmExport On Board (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Charades (“Mirai,” “I Lost My Body”) has acquired “Flow,” a 3D animated feature directed by Gints Zilbalodis, the Annie-nominated filmmaker of “Away”. Produced by Sacrebleu Productions, Dream Well Studio and Take Five, “Flow” will be presented in the Work-in-Progress section in Annecy. Zilbalodis penned the feature with Matiss Kaza at Dream Well Studio and Ron Dyens (“Barking Island”) at Sacrebleu Productions who are acting as co-writers and producers. “Flow” is currently in production in Marseille, Paris and Bruxelles, with an expected delivery date during the second quarter of 2024.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Banijay Rights has closed a major sale on its French drama series “Serial Lover” to Spanish broadcaster Atresmedia. “Serial Lover” marks the debut series for Banijay France’s label Shine Fiction, which is co-producing with Amaury Fournial from Sibaro Films. Written by Alice Den Broek and directed by Fred Berthe, “Serial Lover”‘s synopsis bills the show as “the story of a shrewd man who lives many different lives – a pilot, a surgeon, a broker, a journalist; developing a new personality for every identity and deceiving experts in each field. Handsome, charming, and attentive, exhilarated by his power, the deception becomes an art form as he manipulates all those around him, especially women who he targets and steals from. How many women have fallen in this trap?”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pulsar Content and Have a Good One have unveiled an exclusive clip of “Marinette,” Virginie Verrier’s biopic film about the first French female professional soccer player, ahead of its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival. The film stars Garance Marillier, the breakout star of Julia Ducournau’s “Raw” and Palme d’Or winning “Titane,” and is based on Pichon’s bestselling autobiographical book. A pioneer of French women’s soccer, Pichon held for almost two decades the record for the number of goals and caps for the French team (men/women combined). She eventually became the first French player to have a career in the U.S..

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent One of France’s largest studio complexes, the Studios of Bry-sur-Marne, have been bought by AXA IM Alts from Nexity. The Bry-sur-Marne studios, which boast eight stages, hosts the filming of roughly half of all French productions, notably this year’s highest grossing local film “Asterix and Obelix: the Middle Kingdom,” and the Canal+ series “Marie-Antoinette.” The studios facility is part of the 12 acres of land acquired by AXA IM Alts, an asset manager and investment vehicle for Axa, the global insurance company. As part of the deal, the studios will now be managed by Guillaume de Menthon, the former boss of Telfrance, a prominent producer of TV content such as the daily soap “Demain tout commence.” De Menthon will strive to double the site’s production capacity.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The fourth season of “Emily in Paris” was initially set to start in late summer or early fall in the French capital that gives the show its name, but filming has been delayed by two months due to the writers strike, Variety has learned. That could stretch longer if WGA members remain on the picket line. Netflix declined to comment. The plan is still to start shooting by the end of fall, according to a source close to the streamer. Netflix announced the renewal of Darren Star’s Emmy-nominated romantic comedy in January 2022. Season 3 dropped on the streamer on Dec. 21, 2022 following a massive premiere event in Paris, which lured crowds of overjoyed fans and was attended by Star and the entire cast, including Lily Collins, Ashley Park, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Kate Walsh, Camille Razat, Lucas Bravo, Lucien Laviscount (who wore a shiny purple suit), Bruno Gouery and Samuel Arnold.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Aside from its Palme d’Or for Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” the French cinema world is also celebrating the near-complete recovery of French box office after the pandemic. Ticket sales are still 11.6 % down on the average levels of 2017 to 2019, but the good news is that the B.O. jumped by 33% with 82.38 million admissions during the first five months of 2023, according to the CNC (National Film Board). The upward trend is driven by the spike in anticipated U.S. movies being released — they skyrocketed from 29 in 2022 to 51 in 2023 during the first five months, according to Comscore France. There’s also been a tide of successful French movies, ranging from big-budget, franchise-based movies like Guillaume Canet’s “Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom,” Philippe Lacheau’s “Alibi.com 2” and Martin Bourboulon’s “The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan,” to original fare like the Omar Sy starrer “Father and Soldier” and François Ozon’s 1950’s-set courtroom comedy “The Crime is Mine.” Maiwenn’s “Jeanne du Barry” starring Johnny Depp ranks as May’s fifth biggest hit with more than 550,000 admissions ($4.3 million) since its world premiere on opening night of the Cannes Film Festival.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After being greeted with a seven-minute standing ovation on opening night of the Cannes Film Festival, Johnny Depp’s comeback movie “Jeanne du Barry,” directed by Maiwenn, has charmed French audiences after debuting in cinemas. The costume drama, which stars Depp as the French King Louis XV and marks his first leading role in three years, has been having a strong run at the French B.O., proving that the controversial star is still bankable. At least in France. The film was widely released by Le Pacte on 650 screens and has grossed nearly $4.1 million from more than 550,000 tickets sold in two weeks, according to Comscore France. Currently playing across 800 screens, the film got mixed reviews in Cannes, but still has the potential of selling up to 850,000 tickets (an estimated $6.4 million), according to Eric Marti at Comscore France.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The colorful world of Michel Gondry, the Oscar-winning writer-director of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” is the subject of an upcoming feature documentary represented worldwide by Reservoir Docs. Directed by François Nemeta, “Michel Gondry: Do it Yourself” is an 80-minute documentary shedding light on Gondry’s “inventive and unusual creative process,” from his first video clips to the shooting of his latest movie “The Book of Solutions” which recently opened at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight. “Michel Gondry: Do it Yourself” is produced by Olivier de Bannes at O2B Films, and Robin Acard at The Red Ceiling, and is co-produced by ARTE France.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Cannes Festival’s digital media partner Brut. and leading podcast studio Paradiso Media are launching “Brutally Informed,” a weekly podcast series that just launched exclusively on Audible. The program is part of Audible’s expanding news and non-fiction slate. Hosted by journalists Jared Marcelle, Rheya Spigner, and Noah Jones, “Brutally Informed” aims at delivering insights on issues spanning current affairs, culture, and societal issues with topics ranging from polyamory to the Colorado River to counterfeit sneakers. Each 15-minute episode boasts original interviews and investigative reporting. The audio show is produced by Alex Schuman, with Paradiso Media’s Yael Even Or serving as supervising producer. Executive Producers are Ann Heppermann for Audible, Carly Figueroa for Brut, and Emi Norris for Paradiso.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent David Thion, the French producer of Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winning “Anatomy of a Fall,” is reteaming with Guillaume Senez for “Une part manquante,” a Tokyo-set drama which Be For Films is representing in international markets. “Une part manquante” will also reunite Senez with popular French actor Romain Duris, who starred in his 2018 film “Our Struggles” and earned a Cesar nomination for it. Brussels-based Be For Films had sold “Our Struggles” in most major territories and presented at a flurry of international festivals. Duris will play Jay, who hasn’t seen his daughter for nine years since getting separated from his Japanese wife. As a foreigner residing in Japan, Jay was denied custody of his daughter. Hoping to find her somewhere in the city, he abandons his career as a renown chef and becomes a taxi driver. After all these years searching in vain, Jay is about to give up and move back to France when Lily hops in his cab. But she doesn’t recognize him.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The Cannes Film Festival managed to avoid pensions reform’s protests and a power cut during its entire duration, but Palme d’Or winning director Justine Triet made up for both with a fiery political speech that took aim at the French government. Her impassioned plea became instantly viral and has been dominating headlines in French media. After being introduced on stage by Jane Fonda and thanking her partners on the film and Cannes’ jury, Triet said the country “was rocked by an unprecedented protest movement that was extremely powerful and unanimous against the pensions reform.” She argued that the “protest was denied and suppressed in a shocking manner, and this pattern of increasingly uninhibited dominating power is now at work in several areas; obviously socially is where it is the most shocking, but we also see it in all spheres of society, and the film industry hasn’t been spared,” said Triet, drawing cheers and a few boos from the captive audience inside the Lumiere Theater.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” one of the best reviewed films of the Cannes competition, which was bought by Neon, examines the collapse of a marriage and a mother-and-son relationship in a documentary-style courtroom drama. The chamber piece is driven by Sandra Hüller’s (“Toni Erdmann”) nuanced performance as a successful German novelist on trial for the murder of her husband (Samuel Theis), who died in mysterious circumstances in a remote corner of the snowy French Alps. Their visually impaired 11-year-old son (Milo Machado Graner) is called on the witness stand, prompting a dissection of Sandra’s conduct as a wife and a mother. Supporting roles are played by Swann Arlaud and Antoine Reinartz.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Girls Supports Girls, the French film sorority launched by producer Vanessa Djian and publicist Karolyne Leibovici, made its debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival with the backing of Orange, in association with Kering. A flurry of French female talent, notably “Simone” actress Elsa Zylberstein and “Houria” director Mounia Meddour, took part in the networking luncheon which was hosted on the rooftop terrasse of Kering’s Women in Motion event at the Majestic hotel. Djian, whose production banner Daïdaï Films recently became part of Newen Group, and Leibovici, the founder of A&K communication, launched Girls Supports Girls four years ago to connect and create opportunities for female producers, actresses, executives and diverse talent coming from the film, TV and media industries.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Wscripted, the talent platform sourcing women and non-binary writers, has unveiled the nominees for its third Cannes Screenplay List, an initiative launched in partnership with MUBI. The final selection was curated by an inaugural jury of international female filmmakers, including Mounia Meddour (“Papicha”, “Houria”), Funa Maduka (“Waiting for Hassana”), and Camille Griffin (“Silent Night”). The list features 10 English-language and two French-language film projects by women and non-binary screenwriters and celebrates original projects from development to early financing stages.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Leading lights of contemporary Iranian cinema, including ‘Holy Spider’ actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi, ‘The Siren’ director Sepideh Farsi, ‘The Opponent’ helmer Milad Alami and producer Kaveh Farnham, turned up at the Cannes Film Festival to raise the alarm on the repression faced by Iranian cinema during a session hosted by Amazon Prime Video’s Sahar Baghery. Iran has been the centerstage of widespread protests driven by women against the Islamic Regime since Mahsa Amini died in police custody for for wearing her hijab too loosely in September 2022. Although the rebellion has garnered vocal support outside of Iran, it hasn’t succeeded in dethroning the Iranian Regime. A number of dissident Iranian filmmakers and talent have been jailed over the last six months, notably Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof who was recently released from prison. Rasoulof was nevertheless banned from leaving Iran to serve on the jury of Un Certain Regard at Cannes.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Tiger Stripes,” the debut feature of Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu, won the Grand Prize at Cannes’ Critics Week, the Cannes sidebar dedicated to first or second films. The prize was awarded by a jury presided over by Audrey Diwan, the Venice prizewinning director of “Happening.” The French Touch Jury Award went to Belgian director Paloma Sermon-Daï’s “It’s Raining in the House,” a film about adolescence, while the Revelation prize from the Louis Roederer Foundation was handed out to Jovan Ginic, the actor of Vladimir Perisic’s “Lost Country.”  The SACD prize, meanwhile, went to “Le Ravissement” by Iris Kaltenbäck.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Alireza Khatami and Ali Asgari‘s “Terrestrial Verses,” the sole Iranian film premiering in Cannes’ Official Selection, has been acquired for distribution in key European territories. Represented by Films Boutique, “Terrestrial Verses” has been acquired for France (ARP Selection), Benelux (September Films) and Germany/Austria (Neue Visionen). All three banners are leading distributors in their respective territories. Those deals were closed following the film’s well-received world premiere. “Terrestrial Verses” marks the first collaboration between Khatami and Asgari, who are both acclaimed directors.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France tv distribution has boarded “Christmas Carole” (“Noël au balcon”), a comedy starring Didier Bourdon (“Alibi.com 2”) and Noemie Lvovsky (“Camille Rewinds”). The company has launched sales on the project at the Cannes market. “Christmas Carole” is directed by Jeanne Gottesdiener, and produced by Belga Studios (“Waiting for Banjangles,” “Benedetta”) and Polaris Film Production (“Cease Fire,” “2 Days in New York”), in co-production with M6 Films. Set around Christmas, the movie revolves around a small-town mayoress, Carole, who is helping the inhabitants of her municipality with the festivities while her devoted husband Alain organizes the Christmas Eve celebrations at home. The kids are arriving, soon all hopes of a peaceful Christmas melt away as the family traditions are called into question.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France’s mk2 films is set to distribute internationally a collection of Martin Scorsese’s prestigious restored films from the World Cinema Project, which is part of his banner The Film Foundation. The World Cinema Project has so far restored 51 films from 29 different countries, representing the breadth and diversity of global cinema. Scorsese, one of the greatest living film legends whose latest movie “Killers of the Flower Moon” world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, created The Film Foundation to raise awareness and funds for the preservation of our cinematic history. Since its formation, The Film Foundation has helped to preserve and restore over 1,000 films from every era and genre, ranging from features to documentaries, newsreels, shorts, home movies, experimental and silent films.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent A bold departure from France’s cinema tradition of social realism, Thomas Cailley’s widely ambitious sophomore outing “The Animal Kingdom” is equally a creature-filled dystopia, an emotionally charged father-and-son drama and a coming-of-age tale. The character-driven film world premiered to warm reviews at the Cannes Film Festival where it bowed the Un Certain Regard section. “The Animal Kingdom” is represented in international market by Studiocanal and was produced by Pierre Guyard at Nord Ouest Films, and co-produced by Artemis. “The Animal Kingdom” takes place in an undetermined future in France which has been swept by a genetic disease causing people to transform into creatures that are being hunted down and killed or institutionalized by authorities. Kircher, the breakout star of Christophe Honoré’s “Winter Boy,” plays 16-year-old Emile whose mother was institutionalized after showing first signs of a genetic mutation. He lives with his father Francois (Romain Duris) who is struggling to overcome grief.