13/09/2007

Filming has almost wrapped up on Cliente, the seventh feature directed by actress Josiane Balasko. Principal photography began on July 16 and will end on September 27, marking the end of a long process for the director of French Twist (1996 César for Best Screenplay).

The project first faced the refusal of pre-financing from TV channels because of its theme (a single woman in her fifties who uses the services of younger men to fill a sexual and emotional void) but the fact that Balasko’s book of the same name proved a bestseller in 2004 led professionals to revise their judgement.

Produced by Gaumont, LGM and Josy Films, Cliente stars Nathalie Baye, Isabelle Carré and Eric Caravaca alongside Balasko, Marilou Berry, George Aguilar and Catherine Hiegel.

Judith (Baye), an attractive and balanced woman in her fifties, hosts a teleshopping programme. Single and divorced, her only confidante is her sister Irène (Balasko). Irène is the only one to know her secret – Judith regularly offers herself the sexual services of young men she has chosen on escort websites.

This is how she meets Patrick (Caravaca), who she likes for his kindness, charm and simplicity. The only problem is that Patrick (whose real name is Marco) is married and very much in love with his wife Fanny (Carré). She thinks that her husband works in construction and not prostituting himself to pay back the loan for her hairdressing salon.

Judith becomes attached to Marco and asks to see him more often. Things get complicated when one day Fanny listens to the messages on her husband’s phone and goes to the hotel where he is supposed to be. There, she discovers her husband in a bathrobe and not alone….

Filming took place in and around Paris and will end with a three-day shoot in the United States. Co-produced by and pre-sold to France 3 Cinéma, the film will be distributed theatrically in late summer 2008 by Gaumont, who is also handling international sales.

(Translated from French)