23/07/2007

Etienne Chatiliez has started filming in Paris on one of the most important French productions of the year, Agathe Cléry, a musical comedy starring Valerie Lemercier (2007 Cesar for Best Supporting Actress, Orchestra Seats [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Quebec comedian Anthony Kavanagh, Dominique Lavanant, Jacques Boudet, Isabelle Nanty, Artus de Penguern and Jean Rochefort.

Written by Chatiliez and Laurent Chouchan, Agathe Cléry charts the trials and tribulations of a racist businesswoman (Lemercier), who works as a marketing director of a special cosmetic line for light skin at a beauty products multinational.

Her life takes a turn for the worse when she suffers from a strange dysfunction of her suprarenal glands that causes a change in her skin tone so that one morning she wakes up completely black. Dismissed by her boss, rejected by her fiancé, turned down at every job interview, Agathe has to learn to live like a black woman in Paris and ironically ends up working at a company with no whites.

Generally a safe box office bet, Chatiliez made his directorial debut in 1988 with Life Is a Long Quiet River (4m admissions), followed by the hit Tatie Danielle (1990), Le bonheur est dans le pré (1995, 4.9m) and Tanguy (2001, almost 4.2m filmgoers) – yet his latest film La confiance règne (2004, 485,000) was a near total flop.

Produced by Charles Gassot for Produire à Paris, the €22.5m Agathe Cléry received co-production funding (€4m) and pre-sales from TF1 Films Productions. Filming is expected to wrap up late October.

Pathé will handle domestic distribution in 2008, as well as world sales.

(Translated from French)