Orange Studio is launching several French projects at the Cannes Film Market, including Simon Bouisson’s “Drone,” a thriller produced by Haut et Court (“The Night of the 12th”), and “Miss Violet,” a period drama directed by Eric Besnard (“Delicious”) and starring Alexandra Lamy (“Rolling to You”).
Bouisson, who is directing “Drone,” previously penned and directed the short-format series “Stalk” which was hit on France Televisions’ youth-centered service and has been optioned for a remake in the U.S. The thriller stars Marion Barbeau, the dancer-turned-actor who broke through in Cedric Klapisch’s “Rise,” as well as Eugénie Derouand (“Paris Police”), Cédric Kahn (“November”) and Stefan Crepon (“Peter Von Kant”)
“Drone” follows Emilie who has freshly arrived in Paris to study architecture. At night, to make ends meet, she works as a cam-girl, something which she keeps to herself. One evening, a mysterious drone appears at her apartment window. From then on, whenever Emilie is alone, the drone appears and follows her. Intrigued, Emilie wonders who is hiding behind this machine with which she is starting to form an unconventional relationship. But when Emilie eventually tries to escape the drone’s grip, the trap closes in on her. The movie is currently in post.
Haut et Court recently won the Toscan du Plantier prize which honors the year’s best producers in France, and nabbed several Cesar Awards, including best film, with Dominik Moll’s thriller “The Night of the 12th.”
“‘Drone’ is very modern and is an allegorical two-hander with a young woman facing off a machine in a duel,” said Charlotte Boucon, head of sales at Orange Studio.
Boucon said “Drone”‘s underscored Orange Studio’s “ambition to have a diversified lineup and find original projects and new voices.” “The market has evolved and audiences have changed as well, so it’s the best time to try new things,” she continued. Along the same lines as “Drone,” the company recently launched “Planet B,” a female-driven science fiction thriller headlined by Adele Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color,” “The Stronghold”) and Souheila Yacoub (“Dune : Part Two”) which has been pre-sold to many territories.
“With both ‘Drone’ and ‘Planet B,’ we have attractive creative packages with strong scripts and a clear positioning,” said Boucon.
Orange Studio also has high expectations with “Miss Violet,” the latest film by Besnard. Boucon handled Besnard’s previous film “Delicious” and pointed out it was a global sales hits and performed well at the box office. “‘Miss Violet’ is the type of French movie which has an international audience and Besnard is a talented filmmaker with a vision and a style,” Boucon continued. “Miss Violet” is produced by Nord-Ouest, which is at Cannes with Thomas Cailley’s Un Certain Regard opening film “Animal Kingdom.”
Set in France at the end of the 19th century, the film stars Lamy as Louise Violet, a Parisian teacher with a shady past who is sent on a mission to the French countryside, where she manages to convince parents to send their kids to school. Lamy (“Rolling to You”) stars in the film opposite Grégory Gadebois (“A Great Friend,” “Delicious”). “Miss Violet” will distributed in France by Orange Studio and Apollo Films Distribution.
Other highlights on Orange Studio’s slate include “Back to Alexandria,” Tamer Ruggli’s road movie starring Labaki (“Caramel”) as Sue who returns to her native Egypt after twenty years of absence to see her estranged mother, Fairouz (Fanny Ardant), a splendid and eccentric aristocrat. Produced by Les Films de la Capitaine, the movie will be distributed in France by Orange Studio.
The company is also repping “L’Attachement,” Carine Tardieu’s drama project starring Pio Marmaï (“The Three Musketeers”) and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi (“Anaïs in Love”), which is being produced by Karé Productions (“The Young Lovers”). It will be released in France by Diaphana in September.
