The veil rises bit by bit on Angel A, the 9th feature by French filmmaker Luc Besson, interpreted by Jamel Debbouze. The rumour, fuelled by exhibitors at the recent Cannes festival, became more solid this summer with talk of a 7 week shoot in Paris according to the French cinema monthly Première. Described as a romantic comedy by its principal actor, the film brings together a cast of Gilbert Melki (Crustacés et coquillages, Les Temps qui changent [trailer]) and no doubt Sara Forestier (L'Esquive [trailer]). The only certainty for a production protected by a total media black-out is that the film will be in black and white and see the return behind the camera of Luc Besson after a six year absence (Jeanne d'Arc - 1999).
Absorbed by the development of his production, distribution and international sales company EuropaCorp, the director also has in production the animated film Arthur et les Minimoys, adaptation of the book written by himself and set for theatrical release in December 2006. As for Angel A it will be distributed in France on the 21st December, with a huge total of 900 prints. The filmmaker has chosen Jamel Debbouze, a very popular comedian who decided to speed up his film career having exploded on to the scene with Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain in 2001 and Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cleopatra in 2002. Appearing last year in She Hate Me by Spike Lee, Jamel Debbouze will also appear in 2006 in Indigènes by Rachid Bouchareb, currently in post-production, with a cast of Roschdy Zem, Samy Nacéri and Sami Bouajila.