Poelvoorde and Casta involved in dark affair in Fillières’ Tied

by Fabien Lemercier

23/09/2011 - The film adaptation of Régis Jauffret’s novel, Sévère, based on real-life events that hit the headlines in Switzerland in 2005, is among the three projects selected this week by Arte France Cinéma, which will give support through co-production and pre-acquisitions. The film, piloted by Albertine Productions and renamed Tied, will mark the directorial feature debut by actress Hélène Fillières (star of the Mafiosa series and seen at Locarno in Low Life).

The cast includes Belgium’s Benoît Poelvoorde (recently acclaimed in Romantics Anonymous [trailer] and Nothing To Declare [trailer] and soon to grace screens in My Worst Nightmare), Laetitia Casta (seen at Cannes in The Island and currently on screens in War of the Buttons [trailer]) and seasoned actor Richard Bohringer. The story tells of the dramatic death of a banker, murdered at point-blank range by his mistress during sadomasochistic sex games. Shooting will take place from late October to December in Brussels and Luxembourg.

Arte France Cinéma also selected Little Lion by Samuel Collardey, who made an acclaimed debut with The Apprentice [trailer], which won Best Film in Venice Critics’ Week and the Louis-Delluc Award for Best Debut Film in 2008. Produced by Lazennec 3, his latest film will start shooting in late September and will centre on a young Senegalese man who has come to Europe to try his luck in the world of football. The cast includes Serge Riaboukine, among others.

Finally, Arte France’s film arm selected Teona Grenade’s project Dzma, piloted by MPM Films. The young Georgian director and Fémis graduate also has backing from Emergence for this her debut feature. Set in Tbilisi, it will trace the misadventures of a teenager and his 10-year-old brother, revealing the difficulties and aspirations of a lost generation in a Georgia shaken by internal divisions. Shooting will take place in November-December.

(Translated from French)