27/02/2023 - The French film centre is also supporting works by the Larrieu brothers, Patrick-Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic, Philippe Béziat, Baya Kasmi, Guillaume Senez and Laurent Micheli

11 projects have been selected within the CNC’s first advance on receipts committee for 2023.

Stealing focus among these is Je le jure, which will be Samuel Theis’ 3rd feature film after Party Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marie Amachoukeli, Claire B…
film profile] (awarded the Golden Camera and Best Cast awards in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2014) and Softie [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Samuel Theis
film profile] (well-received in Cannes’ Critics’ Week 2021). The director’s latest opus will star Marina Foïs, Louise Bourgoin, Julien Ernwein, Marie Masala and Micha Lesco. Written by the director himself, the story homes in on thirty-something Marco who works in a recycling centre in Forbach, in the French region of Lorraine, and who finds comfort in alcohol, as well as in Madeleine, a mature woman with whom he enjoys a secret relationship. One day, he’s randomly summoned for jury duty. A bit out of touch and unable to judge for himself, he finds himself responsible for the life of a young pyromaniac who’s accused of manslaughter. Je le jure is produced by Caroline Bonmarchand on behalf of Avenue B Productions and has been pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+. The movie also enjoys support from the Grand Est region where filming is set to unfold in the spring. Distribution in French cinemas is entrusted to Ad Vitam.

The CNC is also throwing its weight behind Le roman de Jim (an adaptation of Pierric Bailly’s eponymous novel), which is the 9th feature film by brothers Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu (selected to compete in Cannes in 2005 via To Paint or Make Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud & Jean-Marie Larrieu
interview: Philippe Martin
film profile], and awarded 2015’s  Best Screenplay trophy in San Sebastian thanks to 21 Nights With Pattie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]).

An advance on receipts is also winging its way to Jésus Léopard which will be Patrick-Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic’s 4th feature film after Dancing (Tribeca 2003), The Other One [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (in competition in Venice 2008) and Blind Spot [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (ACID Cannes 2019). This Sombrero Films production tells a dreamlike story in the form of a fantasy tragedy about a hypnotist who falls in love with someone who really isn’t made for him.

The lucky few also include Philippe Béziat’s documentary L'orchestre (nominated for a Cesar Award and a Best Documentary Lumière in 2022 via Gallant Indies [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), produced by Les Films Pelléas.

Another movie granted an advance on receipts is Mikado, Baya Kasmi’s 3^rd feature film after I’m All Yours [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and The (In)Famous Youssef Salem which is still touring cinemas. Penned by the director alongside Olivier Adam and Magaly Richard-Serrano, the story revolves around Mikado and Laetitia who meet in a children’s home when they’re sixteen and fall in love. When Laetitia learns she’s pregnant, they decide to run away for fear of their baby being taken away from them. Thirteen years later, their daughter Nuage doesn’t officially exist. She and her little brother aren’t listed on any birth registers… Karé Productions are overseeing the project.

The CNC is also backing Une part manquante, which is Belgian-French director Guillaume Senez’s 3rd feature film after Keeper [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Guillaume Senez ­
interview: Kacey Mottet Klein
film profile] (screened in Locarno’s Cinéastes du Présent section in 2015) and Our Struggles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillaume Senez
film profile] (Cannes’ Critics’ Week 2018). Penned by the director together with Jean Denizot, the story follows Jay (who’ll be played by Romain Duris) who returns to France after years spent in Japan only to find that his daughter doesn’t recognise him... The feature is produced by Belgium’s Versus Production and French firm Films Pelléas, in co-production with Japan’s Loaded Films.

An advance on receipts has likewise been awarded to Nino dans la nuit, which will be Belgium director Laurent Micheli’s second feature film after Lola [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurent Micheli
film profile]. Adapted by the filmmaker and Clara Bourreau from Simon and Capucine Johannin’s eponymous novel, the film will revolve around 19-year-old Nino who shares his troubles in order to survive without money in Paris… Production is steered by Haut et Court.

Last but not least are three first feature films which are also set to benefit from advances on receipts. Ducks will see Neary Adeline Hay making her fiction debut (after her documentary Angkar [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) based on a screenplay which she co-wrote with Romy Coccia di Ferro. The story revolves around a young French-Cambodian woman who returns to Cambodia to bury her father and who ends up becoming the "mother" of ducks and embarking on an epic seasonal migration journey across the country, providing her with an opportunity to reconnect with her roots… This singular comedy is steered by Special Touch Studios.

Other first feature films receiving support are Anne Sophie Bailly’s fiction film Les inséparables (Les Films Pelléas) and Olivier Besancenot’s documentary Le bonheur est dans la lutte.

(Translated from French)