Having kicked off on 1 June, filming on Pierre Jolivet’s Une vie de rêve has entered the final straight, with a wrap date set for 11 July. This will be the director’s 19th feature film after Strictly Personal (nominated for the 1986 Best First Film César), Uncontrollable Circumstances and Ma petite entreprise (respectively nominated for the Best Screenplay César in 1990 and in 2000), Zim and Co (screened in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section) and Green Tide (400,000 admissions in France and €2.57m in global revenue), to name just five.

Stand-out names in the cast are Roschdy Zem (reuniting with the director after Armed Hands, named Best Actor, collectively, in Cannes for Days of Glory and awarded the Best Actor César for Oh Mercy!, nominated four times in the Best Supporting Role category, and soon to be seen in Billie Melody and potentially in Venice via Leila et la nuit), Isabelle Carré (awarded the Best Actress César for Beautiful Memories and nominated a further four times, at her best last year in her directorial debut The Dreamers and hitting cinemas in Les Vœux in 2027) and Keerthanaa Bollipalli.

Written by the director in league with Simon Michaël (partnering with the director for the 9th time), the story revolves around Sophie and Xander who are enjoying an idyllic holiday in their sumptuous villa in the South of France. Their young Indian employee Chandra discreetly takes care of everything. On the surface, their life is wonderful. But one day, the couple are called to the police station. Things start to shift and, little by little, the reality of their lives is revealed.

Une vie de rêve is being produced by Franck Calderon on behalf of UGC Fiction, in co-production with France 3 Cinéma. Pre-purchased by Canal+, Ciné+ OCS and France Télévisions, the feature film also enjoys support from the SOFICA company Cofimage and the Sud region (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) where the film is being shot in its entirety. UGC are handling world sales and will also distribute the film in French cinemas.