10/11/2006

Young, multi-award winning shorts director Stéphanie Duvivier started filming on her directorial debut feature La peau lisse (lit. "Smooth Skin") in Marseille on Tuesday.

Starring Marie-Laure Descoureaux, Adbelhafid Metalsi, director Olivier Marchal (36, quai des Orfèvres [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and Hiam Abbass, the film recounts the relationship between Emilie (Descoureaux), a police lieutenant at a small police station in one of Marseille’s rough areas, and Jamil (Metalsi), a newly-qualified young inspector.

Set against a backdrop of drug trafficking investigations, Emilie – who for years was in denial of her femininity – suddenly finds herself being thrust into an irresistible spiral of love. Written by the director, the film explores such issues as cultural differences, age and status, while also providing a sociological commentary on life in the ancient Greek city and the daily life of police.

Thirty-two year-old Morocco-born Duvivier won several international awards for her two shorts that deal with intercultural relationships. The Locarno-selected Le Mariage en papier (starring Cécile de France and Abbass) won Best Actor at the 2001 Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, while Hymne à la gazelle (starring Descoureaux and Metalsi) was nominated for a Cesar last year.

One of La peau lisse’s actors – Metalsi – starred as Doctor Salman in Roberto Benigni’s The Tiger and the Snow [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and will soon be in cinemas again in Roschdy Zem’s Bad Faith [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and in Andalucia by Alain Gomis.

Meanwhile, Abbass – who played one of three women in Free Zone [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Amos Gitai after her leading role in The Syrian Bride and Red Satin [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Raja Amari – is the voice of Jenane in Michel Ocelot’s Azur & Asmar [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].

Produced by Richard Magnien for Mat Films, La peau lisse has been pre-bought by Canal + and received funding from the PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) region.

The six-week shoot is taking place in Marseille until December 12. Ad Vitam will release the film in French cinemas in September 2007.

(Translated from French)