Chatiliez’s L'Oncle Charles looks for his heirs

by Fabien Lemercier

26/08/2011 - For the past 10 days, Etienne Chatiliez has been shooting his seventh feature, L'Oncle Charles (“Uncle Charles”), starring the singer Eddy Mitchell who previously worked with the director on Happiness Is in the Field, winning a César for Best Supporting Actor in 1996. The cast also includes Alexandra Lamy (Ricky [trailer], and soon to be seen in Eric Guirado’s Possessions and Sandrine Bonnaire’s J’Enrage de Son Absence), Valérie Bonneton (Little White Lies [trailer], Goodbye First Love [trailer, film focus]) and Arnaud Ducret.

After clocking up a string of big box-office hits with Life is a Long Quiet River (4m admissions in 1988), Tatie Danielle (1990), Happiness Is in the Field (1995) and Tanguy (2001), Chatilez enjoyed less success with Just Trust (485,000 admissions in 2004) and mixed results with Agathe Clery (just over 1m admissions in 2008).

Co-scripted by the director and Florence Quentin (who collaborated with Chatiliez on his first three films), L'Oncle Charles centres on a rugby tycoon who has made a fortune in New Zealand and, before his death, returns to France in search of potential heirs.

L'Oncle Charles is produced by Les Productions du Champ Poirier. Shooting will take place until mid-October in Paris, Vendée (around Challans) and New Zealand. French distribution (planned for September 2012) and international sales will be managed by Pathé.

(Translated from French)