Falling in love with Mademoiselle Chambon

by Fabien Lemercier

09/09/2008 - Shooting got underway yesterday near Marseilles on Stéphane Brizé’s fourth feature, Mademoiselle Chambon.

Adapted from Eric Holder’s successful eponymous novel, the film stars Vincent Lindon (nominated three times for the Best Actor Cesar, including this year for Those Who Remain [trailer]); Sandrine Kiberlain (Very Well, Thank You [trailer], La Vie d'artiste [trailer]); and Aure Atika (Versailles [trailer, film focus], The Beat That My Heart Skipped [trailer]). Italian actor Pierfranceso Favino withdrew from the project in order to concentrate on Ron Howard’s US production Angels & Demons.

Co-written by the director and Florence Vignon, Mademoiselle Chambon is a provincial story of love at first sight. According to Brizé, "This is the story of a builder (Lindon) whose wife (Atika) is a worker. They have a child. They’re simple, happy people who have built their own house and happiness. One day, the husband meets his son’s teacher, Véronique Chambon (Kiberlain), and falls in love with her. This woman touches him deep inside and opens the door to feelings he has never known. He finds himself asking questions he’s never asked himself before."

Having first come to attention at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 1999 with his feature debut Hometown Blue, Brizé confirmed his talent with Not Here To Be Loved [trailer] (in competition at San Sebastian in 2005, three Cesar nominations in 2006 and word-of-mouth success in theatres) before making the original Among Adults [trailer] (2007).

Produced by Mylena Poylo and Gilles Sacuto for TS Productions, Mademoiselle Chambon will be filmed over eight weeks in the Marseilles and Ile-de-France regions. The film has a budget of around €3.9m, including a €500,000 advance on receipts from the National Film Centre (CNC).

Rezo Films are handling international sales and domestic distribution. The feature is set to hit French screens in the second half of 2009.

(Translated from French)