Sur ta joue ennemie freed from prison
Sunday marks the beginning of lensing in Grenoble on Sur ta joue ennemie (“On Your Enemy’s Cheek”), the feature debut from renowned documentary director Jean Xavier de Lestrade, who won a 2002 Academy Award for Murder on a Sunday Morning.
Based on real events that happened fifteen years ago, the film stars Robinson Stévenin (The Colonel [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Lili, 2002 César for Best Supporting Actor) and 2006 Shooting Star Fanny Valette (La petite Jérusalem, Molière [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Change of Address [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], see interview) alongside Aurélien Wiik, Daniel Martin and Hubert Saint-Macary.
Written by the director and Gilles Taurand (The Last Mitterand scriptwriter and Golden Osella winner at Venice 1997, who has worked on five occasions with André Téchiné), Sur ta joue ennemie (developed under the title Un jour peut-être) opens with the release from prison of Julien (Stévenin).
After being locked up for 14 years for parricide and obtaining a doctorate in philosophy during his imprisonment, the thritysomething has only one obsession once freed: to find his first love, Emilie (Fanny Valette), to whom he is linked by way of a dark secret.
Produced on a €2.7m budget by Denis Poncet for Maha Productions (outfit co-directed by de Lestrade) and Philippe Carcassonne for Ciné @, Sur ta joue ennemie received pre-sales and co-production support from France 2 Cinéma, co-production funding from Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, pre-sales from Canal +, CNC advances on receipts of €410,000 and €339,000 from the Ile-de-France.
"We got lots of funding from each financier because the quality of the script was exceptional, not forgetting the impact of de Lestrade’s fame," Denis Poncet told Cineuropa.
The 45-day scheduled shoot will take place in Grenoble for four weeks before moving to Paris. Photography is by talented Greek DoP Yorgos Arvanitis.
The film is expected to be ready for spring 2008 in the hope of a Cannes premiere. Rezo Films is handling French distribution and international sales.
(Translated from French)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
