Since 10 March, Gonzague Legout has been shooting his debut feature film, Le lièvre. Having previously turned heads with his short films Of Men and Mice (selected for the Unifrance Short Film Prize in 2016) and Il y a beaucoup de lumière ici (awarded the Gérardmer Grand Prize in 2023), the director’s leading man, on this occasion, is Dali Benssalah (particularly acclaimed for his part in Athena [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Romain Gavras
scheda film] and La Traviata, My Brothers and I [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], and hitting cinemas on 26 March in The Islanders [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] and in August in Les orphelins).

The cast also stars Sandrine Bonnaire (recently seen in Finalement [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] and The Soul Eater), Nailia Harzoune (seen in Bonjour Tristesse [+leggi anche:
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intervista: David Oelhoffen
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intervista: Céline Rouzet
scheda film]) and Sonia Bonny (The Book of Joy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Camille Lugan
scheda film]).

The story was written by the director and revolves around a character called Ian. A pacemaker for a long-distance running champion who continually humiliates him, Ian decides to take part in a secret race whose participants run to the point of exhaustion and where stopping is tantamount to signing your own death warrant. It’s an incredible adventure which will help him to push himself to his limits and face up to the wounds of his past…

Le lièvre is being produced by Bright Lights Films in co-production with Same Player, KissFilms, Particles Films, Enable Prod. and Kobayashi Prod.. The movie has been pre-purchased by Netflix and France Télévisions, and enjoys further backing from Pictanovo. The six-week film shoot will continue until 18 April in the Hauts-de-France and Île-de-France regions, with Jean-Marie Delorme heading up photography. World sales will be steered by WTFilms while the film’s release in French cinemas falls to UFO Distribution.