Arthur Harari's The Unknown is now in post-production

10/06/2025 - Léa Seydoux and Niels Schneider star in this bathysphère and To Be Continued production, sold by Pathé

The winner of last year’s Best Original Screenplay Oscar via Anatomy of a Fall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Justine Triet
film profile], Arthur Harari wrapped filming on The Unknown at the end of May. It’s the director’s 3rd feature film after the highly acclaimed works Dark Inclusion [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arthur Harari
film profile] (nominated for the 2017 Best First Film César and Lumière awards) and Onoda – 10 000 Nights in the Jungle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arthur Harari
film profile] (which opened Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2021, earned four César nominations in 2022 – notably for Best Film and Best Director – and triumphed in the Best Original Screenplay category).

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The cast is led by Léa Seydoux (awarded Cannes’ Palme d’Or in 2013 thanks to Blue is the Warmest Colour [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Abdellatif Kechiche
film profile], nominated for the Best Actress César in 2013, 2014 and 2022, nominated in the same category at the 2022 European Film Award for One Fine Morning [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], and soon to be seen in Silent Friend) and Niels Schneider (awarded 2017’s Best Newcomer César for Dark Inclusion and nominated Best Actor in 2021 for Love Affair(s) [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuel Mouret
film profile], hitting cinemas this September in Les Tourmentés and next year in the two-parter De Gaulle), and they’re joined by Victoire du Bois (acclaimed in Call Me by Your Name [+see also:
trailer
Q&A: Luca Guadagnino
film profile], In His Own Image [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thierry de Peretti
film profile] and Nino [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pauline Loquès
film profile]), Lilith Grasmug (Foreign Language [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claire Burger
film profile]), Valérie Dréville (Saint Omer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alice Diop
interview: Kayije Kagame
film profile]) and Alexandre Pallu (hailing from the theatre world).

Penned by the director in league with Lucas Harari (based on the comic book Le cas David Zimmerman, which the two brothers wrote together), Vincent Poymiro (the director’s trusty partner with whom he shares the 2022 César for Best Original Screenplay thanks to Onoda) and his famous partner in life and work Justine Triet, the story revolves around David Zimmerman who’s pushing 40 and is a photographer but no-one knows it. He hardly ever leaves the comfort of his four walls, but some friends drag him to an insane party where he spots a woman in the crowd. He can’t take his eyes off her and he follows her… But then, in the dead of night, his life turns upside down. David wakes up… in the body of this unknown woman. The plot is described as "a mix between a realist urban chronicle, a fantastic film, an investigative movie, a melodrama and a waking dream".

The Unknown is being produced by Nicolas Anthomé on behalf of bathysphere and by Lionel Guedj for To Be Continued, in co-production with France 2 Cinéma, Pathé Films and Italian firms Ascent Film and RAI Cinema. Also pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+, the feature film enjoys backing from the CNC (via an advance on receipts) and from the Ile-de-France and Pays de la Loire regions – among other backers - where filming took place with Tom Harari (nominated for the 2022 César and Lumière in his speciality for Onoda) heading up cinematography. The crew also comprises two talents who have been part of the director’s team since his short films: editor Laurent Sénéchal (Oscar-nominated last year for Anatomy of a Fall) and first assistant Benjamin Papin. The Unknown will be distributed in French cinemas by Pathé who are also steering world sales (with rights for North America having been acquired by Neon).