The first clapperboard slammed today on Grand Ciel, which is the debut feature film by Akihiro Hata, a filmmaker who was born in Japan, who graduated from the Paris-based school La Fémis and who has notably turned heads with his medium-length movies Les Invisibles and À la chasse, which were discovered in Clermont-Ferrand’s national competition in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Stand-out names in the cast include Damien Bonnard (nominated for the 2020 and 2022 Best Actor Césars thanks to Les Misérables [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ladj Ly
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intervista: Joachim Lafosse
scheda film], and hitting screens this year in Les trois amies, Reine mère, Niki, Le chemin du serpent and Le Système Victoria), Samir Guesmi (nominated for 2013’s Best Supporting Actor César via Camille Rewinds [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], recently well-received in After the Fire [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Dominik Moll
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Likewise in on the action are Romania’s Tudor-Aaron Istodor (named the European Film Promotion’s Shooting Star of 2017 and Best Actor at Les Arcs in 2016, as well as being nominated for the 2018 Best Actor Gopo via The Fixer [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Adrian Sitaru
intervista: Tudor Aaron Istodor
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intervista: Anamaria Vartolomei
intervista: Christophe Blanc
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intervista: Philippe Lacôte
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Written by Akihiro Hata himself together with Jérémie Dubois (who co-wrote the multiple-award-winning Filipino movie Whether the Weather Is Fine [+leggi anche:
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Grand Ciel is produced by Clément Duboin on behalf of Parisian firm Good Fortune Films, in co-production with Gilles Chanial for Les Films Fauves (Luxembourg). Pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+, the feature film also enjoys support from the CNC (via an advance on receipts, the digital visual effects facility and the Images de la Diversité fund), the Île-de-France region, the Film Fund Luxembourg, the Creative Media Europe Co-Development initiative, the SOFICA companies Cinémage and Cofimage, Pictanovo (in the form of a development grant) and Normandie Images (via a re-writing grant).

The 31-day film shoot wrapping on 26 April is unfolding in Île-de-France, Moselle and Luxembourg with David Chizallet (awarded the Lumière in his speciality and nominated for the 2016 César thanks to Mustang [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
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intervista: Iris Kaltenbäck
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intervista: Marie Amachoukeli
scheda film], Love According To Dalva [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emmanuelle Nicot
intervista: Emmanuelle Nicot, Julie Es…
scheda film]), UFO Distribution will oversee the film’s release in French cinemas, and WTFilms will handle international sales.

For the record, Good Fortune Films have recently offered up Cidade; Campo [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Brazil’s Juliana Rojas (awarded the Encounters’ Best Director Prize at the most recent Berlinale) and have also co-produced German director Ulrich Köhler’s upcoming movie Gavagai.