Principal photography kicked off today, 2 October, on L’homme qui avait peur des femmes, which is Jean-Baptiste Durand’s second feature film after Junkyard Dog (awarded the Best First Film and Most Promising Actor César trophies and nominated in five other categories, including Best Film).

The cast is led by Alexis Manenti (awarded the Most Promising Actor César for Les Misérables, nominated for the Best Actor Lumières Award via The Mohican, and impressive in Cannes back in May in Too Many Beasts and Flesh and Fuel) and Nadia Tereszkiewicz (the winner of both the César and the Lumières Acting Revelation prizes for Forever Young and seen this year in Orange Flavoured Wedding).

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Written by the director (who was previously nominated for the Best Original Screenplay César) alongside Nathan Le Graciet and Guillaume Bréaud (the latter nominated for the Best Original Screenplay César thanks to The Young Lieutenant), the story thrusts us into a small village in the south of France where we find a discreet but accomplished man called Guilhem. There’s just one thing he’s given up on: women. He thinks he’s ugly and uninteresting. When a woman he likes talks to him, he changes: he stammers, he sweats... In short, he’s afraid. His encounter with Marie forces him to grow up, but not without a few bumps along the way…

L’homme qui avait peur des femmes is being produced by Anaïs Bertrand for Insolence Productions (who also steered the director’s debut feature film) in co-production with France 3 Cinéma. Pre-purchased by Canal+, Ciné+ OCS and France Télévisions, the feature film also benefits from a CNC advance on receipts, as well as support from the SOFICA companies Indéfilms and Cofinova, and the Occitanie region where the 30-day shoot will take place (wrapping on 10 November), with Benoît Jaoul (a regular collaborator of the filmmaker) serving as director of photography. Interestingly, the score will be composed by Delphine Malaussena (César-nominated in her field for Junkyard Dog). International sales are handled by Films Boutique, while distribution in French cinemas will be overseen by Diaphana.