Shooting anecdotes, notes of intent, information for film lovers: every week, discover behind the scenes of cinema releases.
The Passenger by Héloïse Pelloquet
With Cécile de France, Félix Lefebvre, Grégoire Monsaingeon…
What is it about ? Chiara lives on an island off the Atlantic coast, where her husband Antoine grew up. They are a happy and loving couple. She learned Antoine’s trade, fishing, and has worked alongside him for twenty years. The arrival of Maxence, a new apprentice, will upset their balance and Chiara’s certainties…
Did you know ? La Passagère is Héloïse Pelloquet’s first feature film after directing three shorts: Comme une grande, L’âge des sirens and Côté cœur. The filmmaker began writing the screenplay for La Passagère after her third short film, which carried the seeds of motifs she wanted to explore further: an ill-matched couple and the meeting of two distinct backgrounds.
The Banshees of Inisherin by Martin McDonagh
With Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon…
What is it about ? On Inisherin – an isolated island off the west coast of Ireland – two lifelong friends, Padraic and Colm, find themselves at an impasse when Colm decides overnight to end their friendship.
Did you know ? The Banshees of Inisherin was filmed on the islands of Inishmore and Achill, off the west coast of Ireland. Inishmore Island is part of the Aran Islands, a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay: Inishmore, the largest, Inishmaan the second, and Inisheer, the smallest.
The population of the three islands combined amounts to approximately 1,200 people who mainly speak the Irish language. Then, Martin McDonagh put his cameras on Achill Island, 150 km away, in County Mayo, where the pub was located.
Caravaggio by Michele Placido
With Riccardo Scamarcio, Louis Garrel, Isabelle Huppert…
What is it about ? Italy 1609. Accused of murder, Caravaggio fled Rome and took refuge in Naples. Supported by the powerful Colonna family, Caravaggio tries to obtain the grace of the Church to return to Rome. The Pope then decides to have an inquisitor, the Shadow, conduct an investigation into the painter whose art is considered subversive.
Did you know ? With Caravaggio, Michele Placido reunited with Riccardo Scamarcio, whom he had turned in Romanzo criminale and The Italian Dream. In addition, Isabelle Huppert and Louis Garrel had played in My mother in 2004.
M3GAN by Gerard Johnstone
With Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng…
What is it about ? M3GAN is a technological miracle, a cyber doll whose artificial intelligence is programmed to be the ideal companion for children and the safest ally for parents.
Choir of Rockers by Ida Techer, Luc Bricault
With Mathilde Seigner, Bernard Le Coq, Anne Benoit…
What is it about ? Alex, a singer whose career is struggling to take off, accepts a strange job: making a choir of retirees sing nursery rhymes. She discovers a group of unmanageable seniors who only dream of one thing, singing rock! Alex’s mission will turn out to be more complicated than expected with the most unlikely of choirs…
Live by Oliver Hermanus
With Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp (II)…
What is it about ? 1953. London is still healing its wounds after the Second World War. Williams, a seasoned civil servant, is a helpless cog in the city’s administrative system that must rebuild itself. He leads a dull and uninteresting life, but everything changes when he is diagnosed with a serious illness.
Did you know ? On Live, Oliver Hermanus collaborates for the fourth time with the director of photography Jamie Ramsay after Moffie, Beauty and Shirley Adams. The two men and their team had to work quickly, due to a tight budget and a shoot packed into six weeks. They also tried to offer the actors as many takes as possible. Witness the dialogue scene with Bill Nighy in a pub, which resulted in 19 takes.
Unicorn Wars by Alberto Vazquez (II)
With Ramon Barea
What is it about ? In these remote lands, Bears and Unicorns have always been at war. The Celestine soldier thirsts for the blood of Unicorns, pledge of eternal beauty, according to the Great Sacred Book. The final battle is approaching: a unit of bear cubs goes on a commando mission in the Magic Forest.
Did you know ? Alberto Vázquez defines Unicorn Wars as an anti-war fable, which delves into the absurd origins of the most dramatic conflicts. He assures : “It’s an epic, emotional story, a universal tale that tackles with sardonic humor and through psychology, themes such as family relationships, religion, the environment, the origin of evil and power as a tool control”.
By heart by Benoit Jacquot
With Isabelle Huppert, Fabrice Luchini
What is it about ? Avignon Festival, summer 2021. An actress, an actor, facing their role, their text, just before the performances. In front of Benoit Jacquot’s documentary camera, Isabelle Huppert and Fabrice Luchini at work.
Joyland by Saim Sadiq
With Ali Junejo, Alina Khan, Sania Saeed…
What is it about ? In Lahore, Haider and his wife live together with his brother’s entire family. In this house where everyone lives under the gaze of others, Haider is asked to find a job and become a father. The day he finds a small job in a cabaret, he falls under the spell of Biba, a sensual and magnetic dancer.
Did you know ? Joyland comes from an amalgamation of things felt and experienced by Saim Sadiq since he was a child. During the writing, the screenplay continued to evolve along with his political ideas. The director explains:
“I always said to myself, ‘I have to do it, and I’m going to do it.’ The challenge today is to continue to live without him, now that I’ve shared it here, in Cannes. The battle begins finally now, for me!”
Hinterland by Stefan Ruzowitzky
With Murathan Muslu, Max von der Groeben, Liv Lisa Fries…
What is it about ? A prisoner of the Great War returns to Vienna and witnesses the brutal murder of his comrades by a serial killer. He decides to investigate.
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Did you know ? Hinterland is set after the end of the First World War, at a time when nothing is as it was and it is unclear what laws still apply. Prior to this film, director Stefan Ruzowitzky had been working on a project that was set around this same time but which did not come to fruition. He had embarked on research and had been marked by his readings of the early 1920s and the interwar period.