On Monday 18 August, shooting began in the Landes region for La Chaleur (lit. “The Heat”), the fifth feature by Stéphane Demoustier, following 40-Love [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Venice International Film Critics’ Week in 2014), The Girl with a Bracelet [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Stéphane Demoustier
scheda film] (César Award for Best Adaptation in 2021 and Lumière Award for Best Screenplay the same year), Borgo [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (nominated this year for the César Award for Best Original Screenplay, with Hafsia Herzi scooping the Best Actress gong) and The Great Arch [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Stéphane Demoustier
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The cast is toplined by Hadrien Hussein (in his first film role). He is flanked by a number of young actors: Tristan Richard, Italy’s Martina La Manna (who has just been filming Roma elastica, in which she plays a young Marion Cotillard) and Noé Houssard. Standing out among the adult thesps are Zakariya Gouram (seen in flicks such as Paris Memories [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alice Winocour
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intervista: Elie Wajeman
scheda film]) and Stessie Santoru.

The screenplay for La Chaleur has been adapted by the director from Victor Jestin’s novel of the same name. The plot goes as follows: it’s unusually hot on the beaches of Landes, and on his last day on the camping site, 17-year-old Marouane is plagued by dread: will the body that he buried on the beach the night before be discovered in broad daylight?

Produced by Jean des Forêts for Petit Film (which previously staged The Girl with a Bracelet and Borgo), La Chaleur is being co-produced by Italy’s Wildside, plus Belgium’s Panache Productions and La Compagnie Cinématographique, in conjunction with Switzerland’s The Dreaming Sheep Company. Having been pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+/OCS, the feature has also secured support via the CNC’s advance on receipts, the Aquitaine region and Procirep/Angoa. The shoot will continue until 24 September in Contis-plage, with David Chambille (who is making his third film in a row with the director and who also recently made a splash with New Wave [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]) serving as DoP. The French theatrical release will be handled by Memento, while the international sales will be managed by Charades.