23/10/2007

Filming kicked off in Lecce, in the Italian region of Puglia, yesterday on Ne te retourne pas (“Don’t Come Back”), the second feature by French director Marina de Van, starring Sophie Marceau, Monica Bellucci, Brigitte Catillon, Thierry Neuvic and Andrea Di Stefano.

De Van’s scriptwtriting credits include François Ozon’s Under the Sand and 8 Women [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. She made her directorial feature debut with In My Skin [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in 2002, which was selected at numerous festivals and attracted strong interest from critics and professionals because of its originality, which borders on the fantastic.

Written by the director and Jacques Akchoti, Ne te retourne pas also delves into the weird and wonderful, in particular the theme of double identity. Jeanne (Sophie Marceau), a married mother of two, realises that her body is changing and nobody notices but her. Despite being surrounded by people who make what’s happening seem less important as she thinks, Jeanne is convinced that something important is going on.

As her metamorphosis continues (progressively giving her the characteristics of the role played by Monica Bellucci), at her mother’s she comes across a photo of a woman living in Italy, whom she begins looking for in order to find out her own identity. The film will require almost a year of post-production work on special effects via Mikros Image.

A European co-production headed by France’s Ex Nihilo (33%) with Luxembourg’s Samsa Film (32%), Belgium’s Entre Chien et Loup (20%) and Italian outfit Studio Urania (15%), Ne te retourne pas received €650,000 from Eurimages, pre-sales from Canal + and TPS Star.

The 64-day shoot begins with four weeks in Puglia before moving to Paris and finally wrapping up in Luxembourg.

International sales are being handled by Wild Bunch, who will also release the film in French cinemas in 2009.

(Translated from French)