EXCLUSIVE: Amine Adjina shooting La petite cuisine de Mehdi
- Younès Boucif, Clara Bretheau, Hiam Abbass, Gustave Kervern, Laurent Stocker and Lou-Adriana Bouziouane are all starring in the director’s first feature, produced by Ex Nihilo and sold by Pyramide
Since 28 September, Amine Adjina has been shooting his debut feature, La petite cuisine de Mehdi, in Lyon. Hailing from the theatre world and a graduate of La Fémis’s 2021 screenplay workshop, the neo-filmmaker has chosen as his lead actors Younès Boucif (well-received in The Rapture [+see also:
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interview: Iris Kaltenbäck
film profile], Magnetic Beats [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Vincent Maël Cardona
film profile], Shepherds [+see also:
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film profile] and the series Standing Up), Clara Bretheau (revealed in Forever Young [+see also:
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interview: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
film profile] and hitting screens next year in Le Répondeur) and Hiam Abbass (nominated for the 2008 European Film Award for Best Actress via Lemon Tree [+see also:
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film profile] and for the 2018 Lumière in the same category thanks to In Syria [+see also:
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interview: Philippe Van Leeuw
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Joining them are Gustave Kervern (In the Courtyard [+see also:
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interview: Philippe Martin
film profile], Fishlove [+see also:
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trailer
film profile]), Laurent Stocker (nominated for the Best Supporting Role and Best Newcomer Césars in 2008, very well-received recently in Plastic Guns [+see also:
film review
interview: Jean-Christophe Meurisse
film profile]) and Lou-Adriana Bouziouane (of the series La fièvre).
Written by the director, the story revolves around Mehdi who’s struggling to play the part of the perfect Algerian son in front of his mother Fatima whilst also throwing himself into his passion for French cuisine and wine in a bistro. And that’s without mentioning his sisters’ various problems and his nephew’s thwarted circumcision. So when his partner of two years Léa, who’s sick and tired of his family shenanigans, takes things up a notch, Mehdi implodes. She wants to meet his mother. Right now! Mehdi has his back to the wall, and he stumbles across the worst possible solution…
La petite cuisine de Mehdi is being produced by Nicolas Blanc on behalf of Ex Nihilo, in co-production with Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma. Pre-purchased by OCS and HBO Max, the feature film also enjoys support from the Sud region and the SOFICA company Cofimage. The 29-day film shoot, which will unfold in Lyon with Sébastien Goepfert (La nouvelle femme [+see also:
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interview: Léa Todorov
film profile], Une histoire d’amour et de désir [+see also:
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trailer
film profile]) heading up photography, is set to wrap on 7 November. International sales and distribution in France are both steered by Pyramide.
For the record, Agat Films & Ex Nihilo unveiled The Most Precious of Cargoes [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Michel Hazanavicius (due for release in France on 20 November) at the most recent Cannes Film Festival, alongside The Marching Band [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Emmanuel Courcol
film profile] by Emmanuel Courcol (in French cinemas on 27 November), Holy Cow [+see also:
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interview: Louise Courvoisier
film profile] by Louise Courvoisier (awarded the Youth Prize in the Un Certain Regard section – to be released in France on 11 December), Block Pass [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Antoine Chevrollier
film profile] by Antoine Chevrollier (in France from 5 February 2025) and Eat the Night [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Caroline Poggi and Jonathan…
film profile] by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, while Little Jaffna [+see also:
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interview: Lawrence Valin
film profile] by Lawrence Valin was recently screened at the Venice Film Festival. The firm is also currently overseeing post-production on La Pie voleuse by Robert Guédiguian (read our article – due for release in France on 29 January 2025), Bonjour l’asile by Judith Davis (article – in France from 26 February 2025) and Nous toutes by Michel Leclerc (starring Léa Drucker, Vincent Elbaz and Vincent Macaigne), as well as the shooting of L'inconnu de la Grande Arche by Stéphane Demoustier (article).
(Translated from French)
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