Friday 12 July saw shooting wrap on the second instalment of Antonin Baudry’s two-parter, De Gaulle, which is the biggest project in French cinema today, given that each chapter has benefitted from a budget totalling 37 million euros. These will be the filmmaker’s 2nd and 3rd feature films after The Wolf’s Call [+lee también:
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Stand-out names in the XXL cast - dominated by Simon Abkarian (at his absolute best in Army of Crime [+lee también:
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entrevista: Arthur Harari
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entrevista: Emmanuel Mouret
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entrevista: Stéphan Castang
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entrevista: Romain Gavras
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entrevista: Arnaud y Jean-Marie Larrieu
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Other actors in on the action include Benoît Magimel (recently awarded the Best Actor César and Lumière awards in 2022 and 2023 for Peaceful [+lee también:
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entrevista: Albert Serra
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entrevista: Elias Belkeddar
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entrevista: Anamaria Vartolomei
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entrevista: Bruno Dumont
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entrevista: Jessica Palud
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ficha de la película], as well as in the House of the Dragon series) and Kacey Mottet Klein (nominated for the Best Newcomer César in 2013 and 2017, thanks to Sister [+lee también:
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entrevista: Ursula Meier
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Q&A: André Téchiné
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entrevista: Adrien Beau
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Written by Antonin Baudry (awarded the Best Original Screenplay Prize in San Sebastián 2013 and nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay César in 2014 via The French Minister) and Bérénice Vila, based upon British author Julian T. Jackson’s book, De Gaulle, une certaine idée de la France, the story begins in June 1940. An unknown general refuses to allow his country to be defeated by Nazi Germany. He moves to London without support, troops or a mandate, upholding the idea of a free France against all opposition. A handful of men join him in his fight, while in Paris and in Lyon, young and intrepid high schoolers embark on their own little battles against the occupier… Baudry’s diptych charts the life and political engagement of Charles De Gaulle between 1940 and 1945, until he embarked upon a political career.

The two-parter, De Gaulle, is produced by Pathé Prodexe in co-production with TF1 Films Production and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, and it has also been pre-purchased by Canal+, Disney+ and TMC (for the first instalment). Filming on the first chapter took place in the summer of 2023 with Pierre Cottereau and Giora Bejach (European Cinematographer award at the European Film Awards for Lebanon [+lee también:
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For the record, Baudry’s diptych falls into Pathé’s wider strategy of bringing about a renaissance of big, spectacular mainstream movies in France, which are rooted in the country’s literary and historical heritage. It’s a movement which was initiated last year, which has met with success at the box-office thanks to Martin Bourboulon’s The Three Musketeers (3.33 million admissions in France for The Three Musketeers: Artagnan [+lee también:
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