PRODUCTION / FUNDING France / Belgium
Marc Fitoussi is shooting Illustre inconnue
- Isabelle Huppert plays an extra trying to make it in the film industry and meeting Sandrine Kiberlain, amongst others, in this Avenue B production sold by Indie Sales
On 5 May started the shooting of Marc Fitoussi’s Illustre inconnue, his 9th feature film after, amongst others, La Vie d’artiste [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2007), Copacabana [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (2010 Critics’ Week) as well as Two Tickets to Greece (2023). The director has also worked on six episodes of the 3rd and 4th seasons of the series Call My Agent! and recently on the series Ça, c'est Paris ! for HBO Max.
Leading the cast is Isabelle Huppert (nominated for the 2017 Best Actress Oscar for Elle [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], twice winner of the Best Actress award in Cannes, crowned in Berlin and Venice, seen recently in Cannes in The Richest Woman in the World) and Sandrine Kiberlain (nominated six times for the Best Actress César and winner in 2014 for 9 Month Stretch [+see also:
trailer
film profile], and who will be seen in French theatres on 2 July in L‘accident de piano).
Also taking part are Anne Marivin (Little White Lies [+see also:
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film profile]), German actress Diane Kruger (Best Actress award in Cannes in 2017 for In The Fade [+see also:
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interview: Fatih Akin
film profile] and who will soon be seen in the series Merteuil), Emmanuelle Bercot (Best Actress award in Cannes in 2015 for My King [+see also:
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trailer
film profile], seen recently on the Croisette in Baise-en-ville [+see also:
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film profile]), Ana Girardot (nominated for the 2015 Best Newcomer César for Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] and High Society [+see also:
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film profile], remarkable last year in Madame de Sévigné), Vincent Dedienne (appreciated in particular in A Good Man [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] and Margaux Hartmann [+see also:
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interview: Ludovic Bergery
film profile]) and Thomas Jolly (In the Nguyen Kitchen [+see also:
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interview: Stéphane Ly-Cuong
film profile]). All the actors, except for Isabelle Huppert, will be playing themselves.
Written by the director, the script centres on Corinne Maclou, a film extra. Working on film after film, she relentlessly roams the sets in the hope of getting noticed and finally getting a real part. Irritating to some, devoted to others, Corrine hangs on and refuses to give up hope. When she meets Sandrine Kiberlain, with whom she will slowly sympathise, Corrine believes she is finally reaching her dream: could the famous actress allow her to find her place within the great family of the seventh art? But Sandrine, however well-known she may be, also has her own problems. Her agent and other people begrudge her for having become arrogant, too detached from reality. By inserting herself in Corrine’s daily life, she’s hoping to go back to normal… Will they know how to help each other?
Illustre inconnue is produced by Caroline Bonmarchand for Avenue B Productions (a faithful accomplice for the filmmaker) and co-produced by France 3 Cinéma and Belgian outfit Beside Productions. Pre-bought by France Télévisions, Canal+ and Ciné+/OCS, the feature is also supported by Sofica Cinécap and Cinémage. The shoot, which will end on 23 June, will take place in Ile-de-France and, for six days, in Morocco (in Ouarzazate) with Jérôme Alméras (nominated for the 2014 Best Cinematography Lumière award for The French Minister [+see also:
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film profile] and the same year for the David di Donatello award in his specialty for Human Capital [+see also:
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interview: Paolo Virzì
film profile]) as director of photography. International sales are handled by Indie Sales and the release in French cinemas will be led by Memento Distribution.
As a reminder, so far this year, Avenue B has released in theatres I Swear by Samuel Theis and the co-production Shepherds [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Sophie Deraspe (discovered in Toronto and which has accumulated 140 000 admissions in France in six weeks).
(Translated from French)
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