Lawrence Valin has been in Paris shooting his debut feature film Little Jaffna since 18 September. A graduate of La Fémis’ La Résidence programme, the filmmaker-actor attracted a great deal of attention via his short films, the most recent of which, The Loyal Man, won him an acting prize in Clermont-Ferrand in 2020. Valin also toplines his latest opus, whose entire cast is French-Tamil and includes Puviraj Raveendram, Vela Ramamoorthy and Kawsie Chandran, among others.

Written by Lawrence Valin, Marlène Poste (the director’s usual partner in crime), Malysone Bovorasmy (nominated for 2021’s Best Screenplay César and Lumière trophies via Two Of Us [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]), Gaëlle Macé (nominated for the 2015 Best Screenplay Lumière thanks to Elle l’adore [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]), Yacine Badday (Skies of Lebanon [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], Acide [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]) and Arthur Beaupère, the story (which scooped Cannes’ 2023 Best Screenplay Award) opens in Paris in 2008. Michael Beaulieu, a young cop from the lowest echelons of society, is singled out by the General Directorate for Internal Security to infiltrate a Tamil pro-independence organisation in order to bring down one of its biggest money men. But the more he immerses himself inside this community, the more Michael seems to identify with the people he’s meant to destroy…

Little Jaffna is being produced by Marc Bordure on behalf of Ex Nihilo and by Simon Bleuzé for Mean Streets, in co-production with France 2 Cinéma. Pre-purchased by Canal+, Ciné+ and France Télévisions, the feature film also enjoys support from the CNC (via an advance on receipts and aid from the Images de la diversité fund), the Gan Film Foundation and the SOFICA company Cineaxe. The project featured within the annual selections of Groupe Ouest, the Grand Nord Workshop (Sodec) and the Angers Workshops. The 38-day film shoot will take place in Paris and the Ile-de-France region until 9 November, with Maxence Lemonnier heading up photography. Distribution in  France will be steered by Zinc and international sales by Charades.

For the record, Agat Films are also overseeing filming on La Pie voleuse by Robert Guédiguian (read our article) and Une affaire de principe by Antoine Raimbault (article – produced in league with Memento Films Productions), not to mention production on Michel Hazanavicius’ animated movie The Most Precious of Cargos [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]. Their post-production works include Eat The Night [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, La Pampa [+lee también:
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entrevista: Antoine Chevrollier
ficha de la película] by Antoine Chevrollier, Moi vivant, vous ne serez jamais morts by Baptiste Debraux (article) and The Marching Band [+lee también:
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entrevista: Emmanuel Courcol
ficha de la película] by Emmanuel Courcol, without forgetting 5 hectares [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Émilie Deleuze (unveiled in Locarno), which is hitting French cinemas on 13 December, Sébastien Lifshitz’s documentary Madame Hofmann (screened in Angoulême), Belgian co-production Holly [+lee también:
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entrevista: Fien Troch
ficha de la película] by Fien Troch (unveiled in competition in Venice) and Erwan Le Duc’s series Under Control, which is about to be broadcast on Arte.