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PRODUCTION France

Reda Kateb and Cécile de France shooting Django

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- The movie revolving around famous guitarist Django Reinhardt is being directed by Etienne Comar, and produced by Arche Films and Curiosa Films

Reda Kateb and Cécile de France shooting Django
Reda Kateb and Cécile de France

Since 24 February, Etienne Comar, who has so far cut his teeth as a screenwriter (with films such as Mon roi [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and Of Gods and Men [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xavier Beauvois
film profile
]
under his belt, the latter having earned him a nomination for the César Awards in 2011) and a producer (of Timbuktu [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and The Women on the 6th Floor [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, among others), is shooting his feature-length directorial debut: Django [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Etienne Comar
film profile
]
. The cast includes Reda Kateb (winner of the César Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2015 for Hippocrates [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thomas Lilti
film profile
]
, also popular in Far from Men [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, and set to be seen later this year in Mon nom à Pigalle and Les Beaux Jours d'Aranjuez [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), Belgium’s Cécile de France (nominated for the César Award for Best Actress in 2007 and 2008, and for the Magritte Award in 2012 for The Kid with a Bike [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
film profile
]
, and putting on a fine performance recently in Summertime [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
) and Hungarian singer Beata Palya.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Penned by Etienne Comar together with Alexis Salatko, and based on the novel Folles de Django, written by the latter, the story kicks off during the German occupation in 1943. Gypsy Django Reinhardt, a true "guitar hero", is at the top of his game. Every evening, he thrills the Paris smart set at the Folies Bergères cabaret music hall with his swing music, while elsewhere in Europe his brethren are being hunted down and butchered. When the German propaganda machine wants to send him to Berlin for a series of concerts, he senses he is in danger and decides to escape to Switzerland with the help of one of his female admirers, Louise de Klerk. In order to make it there, he heads to Thonon-les-Bains on the shores of Lake Geneva with his pregnant wife, Naguine, and his mother, Negros. But the escape attempt turns out to be more complicated than anticipated, and Django and his family find themselves plunged headfirst into war. Nevertheless, even during this dramatic period, he remains an exceptional musician who puts up a fight through his music and his sense of humour, and who seeks to attain musical perfection.

Produced by Etienne Comar for Arches Films, and by duo Olivier Delbosc and Marc Missonnier for Fidélité Films, Django is benefiting from a co-production by France 2 Cinéma, a pre-purchase by Canal+ and support from the Ile-de-France region. The shoot will continue until early May in Paris, Haute-Savoie and Switzerland, with Christophe Beaucarne (nominated for a César Award in 2010, 2011 and 2015) serving as DoP. Distribution in France and international sales will be handled by Pathé.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

(Translated from French)

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