Guédiguian preparing Arménie
Final location hunting for Marseille filmmaker Robert Guégiguian who will turn over, in mid-July in Erevan and its surroundings, his 14th feature: Arménie. After being unfaithful to his regular troupe of actors for Le Promeneur du Champ de Mars, the director brings together for the 11th time the trio composed of Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Gérard Meylan. Notable additions to the cast are Simon Abkarian and, especially, Marcel Bluwal, the famous TV director, now 80 years old, who made an appearance as an actor for Guédiguian in 1993 in L’argent fait le bonheur.
Arménie traces the story of a return to roots, as the film is for its director, whose father was Armenian and mother German. Robert Guédiguian’s grandfather was forced to flee Armenia in 1916 to escape the massacres perpetrated by the Turks. The feature film retraces the steps of a female doctor (Ariane Ascaride), living in Marseille who has to announce to her Armenian father that he does not have long to live. But the condemned man suddenly disappears and his daughter, having enquired (among others through her husband, played by Jean-Pierre Darroussin), discovers that he gone to Armenia and she sets off in search of him. A voyage of initiation for this woman who was never really that close to her father and had never shown any real interest in retracing her roots (she speaks no Armenian) and so her current way of life and her assertions are about to be put to the test.
Produced by Agat Films & Cie, Arménie has already been bought by Canal + and obtained support from France 3 Cinéma. An Advance On Receipts, figure to be set on the 7th of July, was awarded by the National Film Centre (CNC). Also, discussions are taking place for an eventual co-production with the company run by the Dardenne brothers , Les Films du Fleuve. International sales will be handled by Films Distribution and the French release will be orchestrated by Diaphana Distribution. Shooting is expected to start at the end of September - beginning of December, on location mainly in Armenia, with some exterior shots of Marseille.
(Translated from French)
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