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PRODUCTION France

Gainsbourg myth explored by Sfar

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The 13-week shoot starts in Paris today on illustrator Joann Sfar’s debut narrative feature: Serge Gainsbourg (Vie Héroïque) (“Serge Gainsbourg: Heroic Life”).

The film – which retraces the life of the famous singer from the Second World War to the 1980s – stars Éric Elmosnino, Laetitia Casta, Yolande Moreau, Anna Mouglalis, Sara Forestier, Mylène Jampanoï, Philippe Katerine and UK actress Lucy Gordon.

Written by the director (who is concurrently working on an animated film adaptation of his comic book The Rabbi’s Cat), the feature presents itself as a humorous fantasy story "in which a little Jewish boy shows off in German-occupied Paris; in which a shy, young poet leaves behind his painting and his attic room to dazzle the transformist cabarets of the swinging sixties; [and] a ‘heroic life’ in which his verve goes hand in hand with his scandalous love affairs."

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According to Sfar: "The film is a fable. It contains as many truths as inventions. My Gainsbourg is a cross between Murnau’s Nosferatu and a Vittorio Gassmann-style Italian seducer, with a touch of Chaplin for his tenderness and poetry."

Theatre actor Elmosnino will play the singer with Gordon in the role of Jane Birkin. Casta will be Brigitte Bardot, while Mouglalis, Moreau and Forestier will appear as singers Juliette Gréco, Fréhel and France Gall. Boris Vian will be played by Katherine and Bambou – Gainsbourg’s last companion – by Jampanoï.

Produced by Marc du Pontavice and Didier Lupfer for One World Films, Serge Gainsbourg (Vie Héroïque) is co-produced by Studio 37 and US major Universal (who are backing a French title for the first time). The latter – who will release the film domestically in 2010 – have acquired the video rights.

With the rights held by Studio 37, international sales are being handled by Kinology.

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(Translated from French)

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