Shooting on Autobiography of an Octopus by Mathieu Amalric has now wrapped, having kicked off on 5 June. This is the 10th feature by the director who has five Cannes selections under his belt thanks to La Chose Publique (screened in the Directors’ Fortnight), On Tour (which won Best Director in competition), The Blue Room (selected for the Un Certain Regard section), Barbara (awarded the Poetry of Cinema Prize in the Un Certain Regard section, nominated at the Césars nine times and triumphant twice, once claiming Best Actress) and Hold Me Tight (screened in Cannes Première).

Heading up the cast is Christèle Tual (who broke through in L’âge des possibles in 1995 and was also noticed in The Good Life and The Man Who Laughs), Marie-Noëlle Genod (best known as a stage director and seen on the big screen in Par exemple, Electre and The Holy Family), Spanish actress Eva Yeste Mazano (making her big-screen debut), Gulliver Hecq (currently in French cinemas in L’écologie des sentiments), the director himself and Nathalie Boutefeu (Irma Vep, In the Beginning, and recently seen in A Couple).

An adaptation by Mathieu Amalric of Vinciane Despret’s novel, Autobiographie d'un poulpe – et autres récits d'anticipation, the screenplay centres on Donna Faraway, a respected, free-spirited academic who juggles the burden of imposed research fields with the lure of exploring her own hypotheses, such as animals also writing and telling stories in their own way. Recently orphaned, she explores her roots as a spider does its web, and she falls in love again, thanks to what an octopus has written with its ink…

Autobiography of an Octopus is being produced by Yaël Fogiel and Laetitia Gonzalez for Les Films du Poisson (who previously helmed On Tour and Hold Me Tight), in co-production with La Femme qui Aimait les Films, Film(s) and Belgian outfit Wrong Men. Pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+ OCS, the feature also enjoys support from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, where 24 of the shoot’s 25 days were spent, with Belgian Juliette Van Dormael (twice nominated in her field at the Magritte Awards, including last year for Through the Night) serving as director of photography. International sales will be handled by Pyramide, who will also oversee distribution in French theatres.

For the record, Les Films du Poisson’s recent track record includes La Gradiva by Marine Atlan (the winner of this year’s Critics’ Week Grand Prize in Cannes and due for release in France on 4 November).