16/04/2018 - Souad Arsane and Inas Chanti are among the cast of the film, which has been selected in Un Certain Regard; the Les Films de l'Autre Cougar production is being sold by Films Boutique

Eighteen years after his previous feature-length fiction film (Banqueroute in 2000, which was his second outing, following A la belle étoile in 1993), French filmmaker Antoine Desrosières is set to make a very high-profile return with the world premiere of Sextape [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antoine Desrosières
film profile] in the Un Certain Regard selection of the 71st Cannes Film Festival (8-19 May).

Toplining the movie are Souad Arsane (who appeared in Heaven Will Wait [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) and Inas Chanti, who previously worked with the director on the medium-length film Haramiste in 2015 and who reprise the same roles, playing Yasmina and Rim in Sextape. They are flanked by Loubna Abidar (nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress in 2016 for Much Loved [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and soon to grace screens in Amin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Philippe Faucon
film profile]), Sidi Mejai, Medhi Damhane, Elis Gardiole, Farid Kadri and Younes Moktari.

Written by the director together with Anne Sophie Nanki, Souad Arsane, Inas Chanti, Mehdi Dahmane and Sidi Mejai, the story hinges on a question: in the absence of her sister, Rim, what was Yasmina doing in a car park with their boyfriends Salim and Majid? Rim knows nothing about it, but that’s because Yasmina is doing her utmost to prevent her from finding out. What was it, then? The unmentionable… the worst thing ever… supersize shame – and it was all captured by Salim in a potentially highly volatile video…

Produced by Annabelle Bouzom for Les Films de l'Autre Cougar, Sextape was co-produced by Digital District, Eye Lite, Lemon Studio, Flach Film and Rezo Productions. The film, which was supported by the CNC’s advance on receipts and the Alsace region, had a budget of €1.08 million and was shot over 18 days, with Georges Lechaptois serving as DoP. The French theatrical release will be handled on 20 June by Rezo Films, and the international sales are being managed by German sales agent Films Boutique (a subsidiary of Playtime).

(Translated from French)