EXCLUSIVE: Nicolas Pariser shoots Un peu avant minuit
- Melvil Poupaud, Léonie Simaga, Chiara Mastroianni, Golshifteh Farahani, Clara Pacini and Anaïs Demoustier cast in a Bizibi production with Dimanche Soir sold by Pyramide
Beginning on 29 September, filming for Nicolas Pariser's thriller Un peu avant minuit will conclude on 7 November. This is the filmmaker's fourth feature film, following The Great Game [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (discovered at Locarno Concorso Cineasti del Presente in 2015 and winner of the Louis Delluc Prize for Best First Film the same year), Alice and the Mayor [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicolas Pariser
film profile] (Europa Cinema Label at the 2019 Directors' Fortnight) and The Green Perfume [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Directors' Fortnight 2022).
Headlining the cast is Melvil Poupaud (nominated for a César Award for Best Actor in 2020 and 2024 for By the Grace of God [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: François Ozon
film profile] and Just the Two of Us [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valérie Donzelli
film profile], and who will appear next year in Fresh Water for Flowers), supported by Léonie Simaga (who appeared in the director's two previous films and was recently seen in the series Le Négociateur) and Chiara Mastroianni (nominated for the 2020 César Award for Best Actress for On a Magical Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christophe Honoré
film profile], which also earned her the Un Certain Regard Award at Cannes, and who will appear next year in Victor comme tout le monde and Demain je tombe amoureux). Also appearing are Golshifteh Farahani (nominated for the 2014 César Award for Most Promising Actress for The Patience Stone [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], recently seen in Alpha [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Clara Pacini (who made her breakthrough in The Ice Tower [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lucile Hadžihalilović
film profile]) and Anaïs Demoustier (César Award 2020 for Best Actress for Alice and the Mayor, nominated in the supporting actress category in 2018, 2023 and 2025, appearing next year in La Vénus électrique).
Written by the director, the screenplay centres on Léo, aged 49. Just as he is about to separate from his partner, with whom he lives in Nancy, he learns of the death of his biological father, whom he never knew. Needing to take a train to Italy to settle his father's estate, he spends a few days in Paris to take a look at his life. Through discussions with his activist daughter and encounters with ghosts from his past, he gradually begins to question his existence, and especially his relationships with women.
Produced by Emmanuel Agneray for Bizibi (the filmmaker's loyal collaborator) and Audrey Guatelli for Dimanche Soir, Un peu avant minuit is supported by Sofica Indéfilms, Cofinova and La Banque Postale Image, as well as the Italian fund Emilia-Romagna. The 29 days of filming took place in Paris and the Italian city of Ferrara, with Julia Mingo as director of photography. The music will be composed by Benjamin Esdraffo. International sales and French distribution will be handled by Pyramide.
(Translated from French)
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