Written by the director together with Gilles Marchand (twice nominated for the César Award for Best Screenplay in 2001, for Human Resources and With a Friend Like Harry; and who recently co-wrote Eastern Boys [+see also:
trailer
interview: Robin Campillo
film profile]), the story revolves around Philippe Mars, a father and divorcé who works as an executive at an IT company. He simultaneously feels stuck in a rut because of his commute-work-sleep routine and overwhelmed by the world around him: whether it’s his overly ambitious elder daughter, his youngest son who has decided to become a hardcore vegan, his journalist ex-wife who works on a TV news channel, his cat, his artistic sister with a penchant for painting, his old neighbour who seems to be stuck in the Giscard years, his parents who died in a car crash, or his outwardly laid-back boss (who is in fact nothing of the sort)… they all appear to be conspiring against him to make his life more difficult. And when Jérôme, a work colleague whose insanity is contagious, arrives on the scene, Philippe’s life will career utterly out of control.

Produced by Michel Saint-Jean for Diaphana Films (which is getting involved with a Dominik Moll feature for the fourth time), News from Planet Mars is co-produced by France 3 Cinéma and Belgian outfit Artémis Productions. Having been pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+, the feature is also being backed by the Soficinéma, Indéfilms and Palatine Soficas. The shoot will take place in Paris and the Paris region until May, with Jean-François Hensgens (Loving Without Reason [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile], Les chevaliers blancs) serving as DoP. Distribution in French theatres will be handled directly by Diaphana, while Lumière will be in charge of the Belgian release. International sales are taken care of by Memento Films International.