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SHOOTING Spain

Houellebecq: The possibility of a film

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The Valencia-based studios Ciudad de la Luz last weekend hosted the final shooting day of The Possibility of an Island, the directorial debut of controversial French author Michel Houellebecq. The writer-turned-filmmaker currently lives in Spain and chose the country’s southern region as the natural setting for his futuristic tale.

Co-produced by Morena Films (Spain) and Mandarin Films (France), in association with DePalacio Films for a total budget of €6.37m, the French-language title was backed by Valencia’s regional government (with nearly €2.5m) and has involved the work of 60 local technicians and around 50 local companies.

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Principal photography started on April 30 on the island of Lanzarote, before moving to Huelva, Almería, Benidorm and, finally, Ciudad de la Luz for three weeks.

Benoît Magimel (Charlie Says [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
) heads a cast that includes Patrick Bauchau and Spanish actors Jordi Dauder and Ramata Koite in a science-fiction film about a group of scientists who develop rather sophisticated technology that allows one only man and one woman to survive the several cataclysms that take place in the fourth millennium.

This is the third film adaptation of a Houellebecq novel, following his best-seller The Elementary Particles, which attracted the attention of German-born director Oskar Roehler, who turned it into Atomised [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Franka Potente & Moritz Ble…
interview: Oskar Roehler
film profile
]
, one of the winners of the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. In 1999, Philippe Harel had already directed Extension du domaine de la lutte. Celluloïd Dreams handles international sales (news).

As for Ciudad de la Luz, the studios have hosted the principal photography of several titles, including the upcoming Asterix and the Olympic Games and Manolete (see news).

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