From the West Indies to the snowy peaks in La première étoile
La première étoile (“The First Star”), the directorial debut by actor and dubbing artist Lucien Jean-Baptiste, has entered its final leg of shooting.
Produced by Vendredi Film, the feature – which centres on a West Indian family’s skiing holidays – stars the director, Anne Consigny (Not Here to be Loved [+see also:
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Co-written by Jean-Baptiste and Marie-Castille Mention Schaar, the film is set in the 1980s and traces the misadventures of a father (Jean-Baptiste) who makes a bet with his wife (Consigny) that he will be able to supervise the skiing holiday with their children.
This challenge leads to an eventful sojourn for the French-West Indian family who use their resourcefulness to adapt to the white world of the ski slopes that they discover. Jonasz and Lafont play the couple who own the chalet where the family stay.
La première étoile is produced by Mention Schaar and Pierre Kubel for Vendredi Film, who received a development grant from the National Centre for Cinematography (CNC) for the project. The film received co-production support from France 2 Cinéma and Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, as well as backing from Sofica Banque Postale Image et Cinémage.
The nine-week shoot, which kicked off with five weeks in Haute-Savoie in the Les Gets ski resort, is about to begin its seventh week in the Paris region.
The feature, which is set to wrap up in the last quarter of 2008, will be released domestically by Mars Distribution. International sales are still under negotiation.
(Translated from French)
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