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PRODUCTION France

From Finland to Belleville, Buch says Let My People Go!

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The last week of shooting is underway in Paris on Mikael Buch’s debut feature: Let My People Go!. This comedy, co-written by the director and Christophe Honoré, travels from Finland to the Belleville area of Paris.

The cast includes young Nicolas Maury (who attracted attention in Heartbeat Detector [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
and Regular Lovers [+see also:
trailer
interview: Philippe Garrel
film profile
]
), Spanish star Carmen Maura, Jean-François Stévenin, Amira Casar, Clément Sibony, Swiss actor Jean-Luc Bideau and Finnish thesps Jarkko Niemi, Kari Väänänen and Outi Mäenpää.

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The film centres on Ruben. Everyone knows he is a postman, that he is Jewish, homosexual, half Finnish and half French, an unworthy son, disappointing lover, nasty brother, dubious assassin, terrible singer and a thief despite himself…However, Ruben is incapable of understanding who he is. At a major turning point in his life, he doesn’t know whether he should follow his people or his heart.

Produced by Géraldine Michelot and Philippe Martin for Les Films Pelléas, Let My People Go! has received co-production backing from France 2 Cinéma and Jouror Productions, an advance on receipts from the National Film and Moving Image Centre (CNC), a grant from the Ile-de-France region, pre-acquisitions from Orange Cinéma Séries (first distribution window) and Canal + (second distribution window), as well as support from Sofica Cinémage 5 and Uni Etoile 5.

Interviewed by Cineuropa, producer Géraldine Michelot pointed out that Les Films Pelléas had tried to set up a co-production with Finland: "We had some shooting to do in Finland and some local actors. But it’s a small country where there aren’t many funds available. And the co-production agreement with France includes a minimum of 30% for Finland, which is far too high a level."

Having kicked off in mid-September with ten days in Helsinki (with executive production by Snapper Films), Let My People Go!’s nine-week shoot then continued in Paris, with lensing by DoP Céline Bozon. Les Films du Losange will manage French theatrical distribution and international sales.

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(Translated from French)

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