21/12/2009

The final run-up is underway before shooting starts in mid-January in Le Havre on Léa. This is the debut feature by Bruno Rolland, a director acclaimed for his multiple award-winning shorts (Something Different and Le Regard de L’autre) and prolific advertising career in England and France.

The film stars Anne Azoulay, Ginette Garcin, Eric Elmosnino (to be seen as of January 20 in Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life) and Thibault de Montalembert.

Co-written by the director, Anne Azoulay and Jihane Chouaib, the film centres on 25-year-old Léa, who lives in Le Havre where she grew up. She attends university and single-handedly looks after her grandmother, who needs constant care. To make ends meet, she works as a waitress in a night club.

But she dreams of another life: she wants to move to Paris to study at Sciences Po (one of France’s most prestigious higher education institutions). Her offer of a place at the Political Studies Institute hastens her decisions.

Léa is produced by Nathalie Trafford for Paraiso Production. The film’s €1m budget includes an advance on receipts from the National Film and Moving Image Centre (CNC), a pre-sale from Ciné Cinéma and backing from the Haute-Normandie region’s Pôle Image.

The four-week shoot will take place in Le Havre and Paris. Bac Films will release the film in French theatres, while international sales are still under negotiation.

(Translated from French)