06/02/2015 - Sandrine Kiberlain and Kacey Mottet Klein star in a story co-written by Céline Sciamma; the film is produced by Fidélité Films and sold by Elle Driver

André Téchiné at Cannes last year (©AFP/B Langlois)

Since 22 January, André Téchiné has been in Southwest France shooting his 21st feature film, entitled Quand on a 17 ans [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: André Téchiné
interview: Kacey Mottet Klein
film profile] (lit. “When You’re 17”). The filmmaker (who was selected six times in competition at Cannes between 1979 and 2003, once at Venice in 2001 and twice at Berlin, in 2005 and 2007) has assembled a cast including Sandrine Kiberlain (winner of the César Award for Best Actress in 2014 for 9 Month Stretch [+see also:
trailer
film profile], and nominated in 1998, 1999, 2010 and this year, with Elle l'adore [+see also:
trailer
film profile]; to be seen on the big screen in 2015 in Comme un avion [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Floride and Imagine), Swiss actor Kacey Mottet Klein (nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actor in 2013 and winner of the Swiss Film Prize for Best Actor for Sister [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kacey Mottet Klein
interview: Ursula Meier
film profile]; soon to appear on screens in Une mère and Hors cadre), Corentin Fila and Alexis Loret (who recently appeared in Qui vive and Mon amie Victoria [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). For the director, it marks a return to the area where he was born and to the topic of adolescence, a theme that turned out very well for him with his Wild Reeds (winner of the Louis Delluc Prize in 1994 and four Césars in 1995, including Best Film of the Year).

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Written by André Téchiné and Céline Sciamma (the talented writer-director of Water Lilies [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Tomboy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Céline Sciamma
film profile] and Girlhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Céline Sciamma
interview: Céline Sciamma
film profile]), the story revolves around Damien, the son of a soldier, who lives in a barracks in Southwest France with his mother, a doctor, while his father has been despatched to Central Africa. The homosexual boy gets knocked around by another kid at school, Tom, whose adoptive mother has fallen ill. The revulsion and violence that they show towards one another is further stirred up when Damien’s mother decides to take Tom in under their roof...

Produced by Olivier Delbosc and Marc Missonnier for Fidélité Films, Quand on a 17 ans is co-produced by Wild Bunch (which will handle distribution in French cinemas) and by France 2 Cinéma. Having been pre-purchased by Canal + and Ciné +, the feature is also backed by the La Banque Postale Image 8 Sofica and by the Midi-Pyrénées region. The shoot, which is taking place in and around Luchon, will encompass a winter session, set to wrap on 13 February, and several weeks next summer (most likely from 25 June-31 July). International sales will be handled by Elle Driver.

Fidélité Films’ raft of titles includes the comedy Do Not Disturb [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Patrice Leconte (currently showing in theatres, having taken almost 1 million admissions over five weeks) and, in post-production, La dernière leçon [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Pascale Pouzadoux (starring Sandrine Bonnaire and Marthe Villalonga) and Marguerite [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xavier Giannoli
film profile] by Xavier Giannoli (with Catherine Frot in the lead – read the article).

(Translated from French)