Zem and Bekhti investigate in Jolivet’s Mains Armées

by Fabien Lemercier

08/07/2011 - Pierre Jolivet (photo) will look at the fight against arms and drug trafficking in his fourteenth feature, Mains Armées (“Armed Hands”), which will start shooting on Monday in Paris.

In his new film, the director, twice nominated for the Best Screenplay César, has cast charismatic actor Roschdy Zem (Point Blank [trailer], Happy Few [trailer], Outside the Law [trailer]), who is teaming up with Jolivet for the fifth time after Fred, My Little Business, Sole Sisters and The Very Very Big Company [trailer]. The film also features rising star Leïla Bekhti (The Source [trailer], All That Glitters [trailer]) and Marc Lavoine.

Co-scripted by the director and his regular collaborator Simon Michael, the film centres on the encounter between 46-year-old Lucas, a leading cop who heads the arms trafficking unit in Marseille, and 25-year-old Maya, a young police officer in the Paris drug squad. Criminals caught red-handed, robberies, informers… Their investigations become entangled, as do their lives.

Mains Armées is produced by Xavier Rigault and Marc-Antoine Robert (European Film Promotion’s Producer on the Move in 2008) for 2.4.7 Films. Its €8.3m budget includes co-production support from France 2 Cinéma, pre-acquisitions from Canal+ and Ciné+, and backing from Sofica La Banque Postale Image.

Shooting will wrap on September 17. Mars Distribution will release the film in French theatres, while international sales are being managed by Films Distribution.

2.4.7 Films kicked off its production activities with Persepolis [trailer, film focus] and also went on to produce Lights Out [trailer] and The Wedding Cake. In post-production, its slate currently includes David and Stéphane Foenkinos’s Delicacy, starring Audrey Tautou (see news).

(Translated from French)