22/07/2016 - The feature debut by Yann Le Quellec, an adaptation of the Arto Paasilinna novel, produced by Agat Films, sees Bonaventure Gacon and Anaïs Demoustier among the cast

Shooting is due to kick off on 22 August for Cornelius, The Howling Miller [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the feature debut by Yann Le Quellec, a loose adaptation of the novel of the same name by Finnish author Arto Paasilinna. Having turned heads with his short films Beauty and the Beat (in competition at Locarno in 2012) and Le Quepa sur La Vilni ! (Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 2013 and winner of the Jean Vigo Award), the filmmaker has now assembled a cast comprising Bonaventure Gacon (widely regarded as a truly exceptional clown in the circus world, and who rose to fame thanks to the show Par le Boudu), Anaïs Demoustier (nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress in 2009 and 2011, a European Film Promotion Shooting Star in 2010, and popular in such titles as The New Girlfriend [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: François Ozon
film profile], Bird People [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pascale Ferran
film profile], All About Them [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Elles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Malgorzata Sumowska
film profile]), Gustave Kervern (In the Courtyard [+see also:
trailer
interview: Philippe Martin
film profile]) and Denis Lavant (nominated for the César Award for Best Actor in 2013 for Holy Motors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Leos Carax
film profile]).

Written by Yann Le Quellec in conjunction with Gladys Marciano and David Elkaim, the story is set in the remote village of Castelmaure, where an eccentric stranger turns up after finding the ideal location to build and run the mill of his dreams. At first given a warm welcome, new miller Cornelius Bloom unfortunately has one flaw: at the slightest irritation, he takes refuge in the woods to howl at the moon, thus depriving the villagers of their sleep. The villagers then get only one idea into their heads: to send him to a mental hospital. But Cornelius, backed up by the charming horticultural advisor Carmen Cardamome, is determined to fight back to preserve his freedom.

Produced by Patrick Sobelman and Marc Bordure for Agat Films & Ex Nihilo, and by Les Films de Mon Moulin (the director’s own company), Cornelius, The Howling Miller is being co-produced by Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, and has been pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+. Supported by the CNC’s advance on receipts, the feature is also backed by the Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées region, the Aude department and the Gan Foundation for Cinema. The shoot will take place over nine weeks in and around Saint-Maurice-Navacelles. French distribution will be handled by Ad Vitam.

Agat Films & Ex Nihilo recently unveiled The Together Project [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Solveig Anspach (at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight) and Miss Impossible [+see also:
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film profile] by Emilie Deleuze (which snagged a Special Mention in the Generation section at Berlin; EFA Young Audience Award 2016 – set to be released in France on 11 January 2017). The firm will shortly be kicking off the shoot for Luna by Elsa Diringer, has the documentary Adolescentes by Sébastien Lifshitz in production and Le jeune Karl Marx by Raoul Peck (read the article) in post-production, and is preparing L'angle mort by Pierre Trividic and Patrick-Mario Bernard, Gaspard at the Wedding [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antony Cordier
film profile] by Antony Cordier, and Robert Guédiguian’s La villa.

(Translated from French)