15/01/2015 - Benoît Jacquot is setting his sights on the Golden Bear for the second time; Léa Seydoux and Vincent Lindon topline the film, which is sold by Elle Driver

Léa Seydoux in Diary of a Chambermaid by Benoît Jacquot

Benoît Jacquot is back in competition at Berlin for the second time. Following Farewell My Queen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benoît Jacquot
film profile] in 2012, the filmmaker will be in the running again at the 65th edition of the German festival (5-15 February 2015) with the Franco-Belgian co-production Diary of a Chambermaid. For the record, the director has also taken part in the competition at Venice four times (Seventh Heaven in 1997, No Scandal in 1999, The Untouchable [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] in 2006 and 3 Hearts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benoît Jacquot
film profile] in 2014) and was once in the race for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, with The School of Flesh in 1998.

An adaptation by Hélène Zimmer and Benoît Jacquot of Octave Mirbeau’s novel of the same name (which Luis Buñuel already brought to the big screen in 1964), Diary of a Chambermaid stars Léa Seydoux and Vincent Lindon in the lead roles. They are joined by Clotilde Mollet, Hervé Pierre and Vincent Lacoste, among others. For more details on the plot, read the article.

Produced by Kristina Larsen for Les Films du Lendemain (which acted as line producer) and Jean-Pierre Guérin for JPG Films, Diary of a Chambermaid was co-produced by France 3 Cinéma, Mars Films (which will distribute the film in France from 1 April) and Les Films du Fleuve (the Belgian outfit owned by the Dardenne brothers). Having been pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+, the feature was also supported by the CNC’s advance on receipts, the Ile-de-France region and the Palatine Etoile, Cofinova, Banque Postale Image, B.Media, Sofitvciné and Manon Soficas. Elle Driver is handling international sales.

(Translated from French)