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PRODUCTION France

Jean-Paul Rappeneau films Belles familles

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- Back after 11 years off the scene, the award winning director has brought together a scintillating cast led by Mathieu Amalric. An ARP Sélection production

Jean-Paul Rappeneau films Belles familles
Jean-Paul Rappeneau

On 16 June the filming of Belles familles [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
kicked off at Blois. This is the 8th feature film from Jean-Paul Rappeneau, international award winning director, notably with Cyrano de Bergerac (prize for Best Actor at Cannes in 1990, five Oscar nominations – best actor, screenplay, foreign film, set and costume with a victory in the latter -, Golden Globe for best foreign film, six Baftas, 10 Césars, etc.). After the semi-failure of Bon voyage [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(although 796 000 tickets were sold in France in 2003), the director of The Married Couple of the Year Two (in competition at Cannes in 1971) and of The Horseman on the Roof (1995), also nominated at the Oscars for best screenplay in 1965 for The Man from Rio, had difficulty financing his projects.

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Known for his perfectionism, the veteran (82 years old) is thankfully highly rated among actors and his new opus brings together a scintillating cast including Mathieu Amalric (César for best actor in 2005 and 2008, in his element recently in The Blue Room [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mathieu Amalric
film profile
]
), Guillaume de Tonquedec (2013 César for best supporting actor for Le prénom [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
),
Nicole Garcia (nominated three times for the César for best actress and recently appreciated as director with Un beau dimanche [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), Gilles Lellouche (nominated for the César for best supporting actor in 2011 and who will be seen in La French next December), the seasoned André Dussollier (twice winner of the César for best supporting actor and once for best actor; playing this year in Berlin in Beauty and the Beast [+see also:
trailer
making of
interview: Christophe Gans
interview: Léa Seydoux
interview: Vincent Cassel
film profile
]
and in Diplomacy [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), Karin Viard (César for best actress in 2000 and nominated four times since that in 2012 with Poliss [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maïwenn
film profile
]
) and Marine Vacth (nominated for the 2014 César for best female newcomer for Young and Beautiful [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: François Ozon
film profile
]
).

Written by the director with Philippe Le Guay (nominated this year for the César for best original screenplay for Bicycling with Moliere [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
) and Julien Rappeneau, the plot focuses on Jérôme Varenne, who has been living in Shanghai for 10 years. Taking advantage of a business trip to Europe, he stops off in Paris to spend an evening with his mother and his brother. When he learns that their old family home is at the heart of an ongoing local conflict, Jérôme decides to drop by the neighbourhood to try to resolve the conflict. But in Ambray, his hometown, everything becomes complicated. He has a strange encounter and Jérôme’s rustic retreat, which is only supposed to last a few hours, is extended and is going to change his life...

Produced by Laurent Pétin and Michèle Halberstadt for ARP Sélection (which will also lead distribution in France in May 2015), Belles familles is co-produced by TF1 Films Productions. Pre-purchased by Canal+ and OCS, the film is also supported by the advance on takings from CNC and the Ile-de-France region. The 12 weeks of filming will end on 10 September and will take place in Blois, Tours, Chatou, Sèvres, Paris and in the Parisian region with Thierry Arbogast managing photography (three Césars in his field and nominated eight times). International sales are still being negotiated.

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(Translated from French)

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