Revealed in Locarno’s Filmmakers of the Present competition in 2016 by way of Daydreams, Caroline Deruas Peano kicked off filming on her second feature film, Stereo Girls, on 23 September. Leading the cast of this movie which intends to honour the close friendships enjoyed during adolescence and which boasts a markedly female, dreamlike, pop and vibrant feel, are Lena Garrel (recently well-received in The Plough and Forever Young) and Louiza Aura (highly acclaimed in Cannes’ Critics’ Week and hitting French cinemas on 27 November in Queens of Drama).

Joining them in the cast are Emmanuelle Béart (nominated for the Best Actress César five times between 1990 and 2001, and at her absolute best in recent times in The Passengers of the Night and Margaux Hartmann), Vahina Giocante (Lila Says, Secrets of State), comedian Aymeric Lompret (glimpsed in Plastic Guns), Gérard Watkins (of the mini-series Savages), Adama Diop (Continental Drift (South)) and Agnès Berthon (Party of Fools).

Written by the director (based on her own story) in league with Jihane Chouaib (The Beast in the Jungle), Maud Ameline (nominated for the 2013 Best Original Screenplay César thanks to Camille Rewinds as well as for the 2024 David di Donatello Award for Best Adapted Screenplay via Scarlet) and Victoria Kaario, the story takes us back to the 1990s. Charlotte and Liza are two 17-year-old friends who are both crazy about music and who are as diametrically opposed as they are well-suited. Inseparable since childhood, they experience adolescence together joyfully while dreaming of one thing: finishing high school and, once they’ve got their BAC under their belts, moving to Paris where anything seems possible. But tragedy strikes, tearing them apart, and Charlotte finds herself alone, edging closer to adulthood while harbouring dreams for two…

Stereo Girls is produced by Laurine Pelassy on behalf of Les Films de la Capitaine and by Eduardo Sosa Soria for La Féline Films, in co-production with Les Films de Force Majeure, Srab Films and Canadian firm Possibles Media. Notably supported by the Sud and Normandy regions, as well as the Alpes Maritimes department, the City of Nice, SACEM, CICLIC (for the film’s writing), Quebec’s SODEC and Téléfilm Canada, the feature film will continue shooting until 23 October, with Vincent Biron heading up photography. Music in the movie will be composed by Calypso Valois and Yoa, while international sales are steered by Celluloïd Dreams and French distribution by New Story.

For the record, Les Films de la Capitaine and La Féline Films are currently overseeing post-production on Une fille en or by Jean-Luc Gaget.