Thomas Cailley on Turning Reality Into Fantasy With ‘The Animal Kingdom,’ Cannes’ Un Certain Regard Opener

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 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 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 “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 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 Kaouther Ben Hania, the Oscar-nominated director of “The Man Who Sold His Skin” whose latest film “Four Daughters” is competing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, will next direct “Mimesis,” an epic love story set in Tunisia. While the plot is under wraps, the story is set in two different periods, the 1990s and the 1940s, paying tribute to cinema and Arab-Muslim cultural heritage. It’s being produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha at Tanit Films, who produced Ben Hania’s “Four Daughters” and her previous film “The Man Who Sold His Skin” which world premiered at Venice where it won best actor for Yahya Mahayni and was nominated for best international film at the Oscars in 2021.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Claude Lelouch, the Oscar-winning director of “A Man and a Woman,” is getting ready to direct “Finalement…,” his next film which he says will be a sort of sequel to his BAFTA-nominated film “Happy New Year” and “L’aventure, l’aventure.” The lighthearted movie will reteam Lelouch with Metropolitan FilmExport which is co-producing with Lelouch’s banner Les Films 13, and will distribute in France. Scored by popular French singer Ibrahim Maalouf, “Finalement…” will boast a large ensemble cast of French stars, including Kad Merad (“Baron Noir”), Elsa Zylberstein (“Simone”), Sandrine Bonnaire, Raphael Mezrahi, Michel Boujenah and Barbara Pravi.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Leading French producer Michael Gentile’s Paris-based outfit The Film is about to start shooting Julie Delpy’s next directorial outing, “The Barbarians,” and Laurence Arné’s “Les Hennedricks” starring Dany Boon. Delpy’s comeback to French filmmaking since “Lolo,” “The Barbarians” is a satirical comedy unfolding in a small town in Brittany which is preparing to welcome Ukrainian refugees after voting unanimously to greet them in exchange for subsidies from the government. But instead of seeing Ukrainians come into town, they see Syrian refugees, causing some tensions among locals and testing their liberal beliefs. Delpy will star in the film opposite Sandrine Kiberlain (“Mademoiselle Chambon”), Laurent Lafitte (“Elle”) and Ziad Bakri (“The Weekend Away”), India Hair (“Angry Annie”), Mathieu Demy (“The Bureau”) and Delpy’s father Albert Delpy.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent French actor Marine Delterme has signed with WME and has joined the cast of Park Chan-Wook’s HBO spy series “The Sympathizer” alongside Robert Downey Jr. Delterme, who currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband Florian Zeller, the Oscar-winning director of “The Father,” is best known in France for her role in the long-running procedural series “Alice Nevers.” Delterme has also acted in Roland Joffe’s “Vatel,” Mike Figgis’ “Women and Men 2,” and Christian Duguay’s “Coco Chanel.” She also collaborated with directors such as Jean Luc Godard, Manuel Poirier, Benoît Delepine, Philippe Leguay, Raoul Ruiz,  Philippe Harrel, Cyril Collard, Cedrick Klapish, Caroline Champetier, Gerard Oury and Claude Berri.

Welcome, Insiders. Cannes is now well under way while the picket lines remain busy in LA. Jesse Whittock here in London. I’ve rounded up all the big and important news from film and TV, so sit back and enjoy the read. Subscribe here.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Kinology has come on board the highly anticipated next film of Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov, “The Disappearance of Josef Mengele,” based on Olivier Guez’s bestselling novel. Kinology is at Cannes to present the project to buyers. Set to start shooting in a few weeks, the film is being produced by Charles Gillibert at CG Cinema (“Annette”) and Ilya Stewart at Hype Studios (“Tchaikovsky’s Wife”). It stars August Diehl as Mengele, the notorious Nazi doctor who found refuge in South America at the end of WWII and was never captured. Mengele died in Brazil in 1979 without having been judged for his crimes. The daring movie will focus on Mengele’s fugitive years, spanning from Paraguay to the Brazilian jungle, and will be told from the man’s point of view.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Music Box Films has bought U.S. rights to “The Crime Is Mine” (“Mon Crime”), a period comedy by French helmer François Ozon (“Swimming Pool,” “8 Women”). “The Crime Is Mine” stars Rebecca Marder and Nadia Tereszkiewicz, who just won the Cesar Award for female newcomer, alongside Isabelle Huppert, Fabrice Luchini, Dany Boon and André Dussolier. Music Box Films plans a theatrical release for later this year, followed by a home entertainment rollout. Adapted from a 1934 play by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil, “The Crime Is Mine” follows struggling actress Madeleine (Tereszkiewicz), and her best friend and roommate Pauline (Marder), an unemployed lawyer in 1930s Paris. Madeleine ascends to fame after standing trial for the murder of a movie producer, with Pauline serving as defense counsel and media circus ringmaster. Upon Madeleine’s acquittal, a new life of fame, wealth and tabloid celebrity awaits — until the truth comes out.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent REInvent has closed a French deal on “The Angel Maker,” a psychological thriller starring a top Nordic cast including Julie R. Ølgaard (“The Killing”), Roland Møller (“Riders of Justice”), Christopher Læssø (“The Bridge”) and Stine Stengade (“Those Who Kill”). The banner has sold the film to Koba Films in France and will be hosting a market screening at Cannes on the 18th. “The Angel Maker” tells the story of crime detective Laura who is specialized within cybercrime. Laura is on sick leave with a psychosis after a birth depression and by coincidence she stumbles upon a case with a beastly serial killer which piques her interest and she decides that it is time for her to return to her job as a crime detective.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jane Fonda revealed on a recent episode of “Watch What Happens Live” that French director René Clément asked to sleep with her during the making of their 1964 thriller “Joy House.” Fonda starred in the film opposite Alain Delon and Lola Albright. “Watch What Happens Live” host Andy Cohen asked Fonda to name “one man in Hollywood that tried to pick you up once that you turned down.” The Oscar-winning actor replied: “The French director René Clément.” Fonda elaborated, “Well, he wanted to go to bed with me because he said the character had to have an orgasm in the movie and he needed to see what my orgasms were like. He said it in French and I pretended I didn’t understand.”

Actors Mads Mikkelsen and Johnny Depp are back in the same headline again.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Catherine Corsini, an outspoken queer activist and co-founder of France’s feminist organization 50:50, should have been celebrating her new film’s inclusion in the competition lineup of the Cannes Film Festival. Instead, she found herself in the middle of a firestorm after “Homecoming,” her coming-of-age story, failed to get the proper government approvals for a scene of a sexual nature involving two minors.   Corsini admits that mistakes were made. But she says that she took every effort to protect her young actors from being exploited.   That scene, which was eventually cut from the movie, became the object of wild rumors, which Corsini said are false, “crazy, completely out of control.” “I’m hallucinating at things I’m reading, accusing me of having forced Esther to do a blowjob or masturbate herself,” she said. 

Cannes Film Festival Thierry Frémaux has responded to French actress Adèle Haenel’s suggestion that Cannes is part of a French eco-system that turns a blind eye to sexual violence.