Mia Hansen-Love shoots Un amour de jeunesse

by Fabien Lemercier

06/09/2010 - France’s Lola Creton (Blubeard [trailer]), Germany’s Sebastian Urzendowsky (Pingpong [trailer, film focus]) and Norway’s Magne Havard Brekke have been chosen in the starring cast of Mia Hansen-Love’s third feature: Un amour de jeunesse (“Youth love”). The film kicked off lensing in mid-July. Hansen-Love has previously directed All is Forgiven [trailer, film focus] (a hit at the 2007 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and winner of Louis Delluc Prize for Best First Film) and Father of My Children [trailer, film focus] (Special Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard at the 2009 Cannes Festival) charts over eight years the love story between two teenagers now in their young adulthood. Director of Photography is Stéphane Fontaine (2010 César for his work on A prophet [trailer, film focus])

Scripted by Hansen-Love herself, the storyline begins in spring 1999. Camille (15, Créton) and Sullivan (19, Urzendowky) are passionately in love, but Sullivan leaves for South America, leaving Camille in a painful wait then desperation. Seven years later, Camille, who forms a solid relationship with Lorenz (Havard Brekke), will cross paths with Sullivan again.

Produced by David Thion for Les Films Pelléas, Un amour de jeunesse has a €4m budget including co-productions from German outfit Razor Film, Arte France Cinéma, Rhône-Alpes Cinéma and Jouror Productions, pre-sales from Arte, WDR, Canal + and Ciné Cinéma, support from the Franco-German co-production mini treaty, the Ile-de-France region, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and Sofica Cinémage and Cofimage. The Centre National du Cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) is also providing an advance on receipts. The 12-week shoot in Denmark, Germany, the Ardèche region and Paris will wrap up in mid-December. French release in the second half of 2011 will be handled by Les Films du Losange, while international sales will be managed by Films Distribution.

(Translated from French)