Reservoir Docs Boards ‘Michel Gondry: Do it Yourself,’ a Documentary about the Oscar-Winning French Writer-Director (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Leos Carax, whose latest film “Annette” won best director at Cannes in 2021, will shed light on his enigmatic and singular body of work in his next project “It’s Not Me.” The self-portrait film reunites Carax with French actor Denis Lavant whom he directed in five of his most famous films, including “Boy Meets Girl,” “Bad Blood,” “Lovers on the Bridge,” and Berlinale prizewinning “Holy Motors.” Les Films du Losange, the Paris-based company which won this year’s Berlinale Golden Bear with Nicolas Philibert’s On The Adamant, will distribute “It’s Not Me” in France, as well as represent the film in international markets. “It’s Not Me” also reteams Carax with Charles Gillibert at CG Cinema, who produced “Annette.” After world premiering at Cannes, the ambitious English language musical drama went on to win many laurels, including best director at the Cesar Awards. It also earned a Cesar nomination for Driver, and a Golden Globe nomination for Cotillard.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are currently being raided by French judicial police. The raids could be part of two preliminary investigations launched in 2017 and 2022 on charges of suspected illegal conflict of interests and favoritism, according to BFM TV. The searches are taking place at several sites, including organization committee and at Solideo, the public institution in charge of spearheading the constructions and renovations tied to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to the news org AFP. Paris 2024 confirmed the raids to local outlets including RMC Sport which leaked an internal memo saying that they were “fully collaborating with police to facilitate their investigation. The teams of the judicial police will be on the ground at least today to collect documents,” the letter continued.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While unveiling its slate of new French originals and acquisitions on Monday, Prime Video announced that it would skip a French theatrical release for “Challengers,” Luca Guadagnino’s anticipated tennis drama. The film, which stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and “West Side Story” star Mike Faist, will still be released in theaters in all other territories. During a posh press event hosted at the Pavillon Royal on the outskirts of Paris, Brigitte Ricou-Bellan, Prime Video’s country managing director for France, said the strategic move by the Amazon streamer resulted from France’s notoriously strict windowing rules, which demands streamers to wait 15 to 17 months after a theatrical roll out before making a new film available on their services. The rule has led other studios to opt to skip French cinemas for new releases before, such as Disney’s decision to debut “Strange World” on streaming.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent London-based outfit Film Constellation has scored a first round of pre-sales on its upcoming family CG animated feature “The Growcodile” at the Annecy Animation Film Festival. “The Growcodile” tells the story of a young girl and her rather unconventional pet, a crocodile named Gilbert. The feature is being adapted by Luuk van Bemmelenfrom from the bestselling children’s book “Crocodile came within!” from renowned Dutch author Paul Van Loon. The animated film, which is expected to be delivered during the fourth quarter of 2025, has pre-sold to Poland (Kinoswiat), Eastern Europe (ProRom), CIS & Baltics (Volga), Portugal (Nos), Greece & Israel (Tanweer), Turkey & MENA (Italia Film), and Vietnam (Lumix), with several other territories under offer and in discussion. KMBO will release it in French theaters.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sapan Studios and IFC Films have acquired U.S. rights to “The Pot-au-Feu,” Trần Anh Hùng’s (“The Scent of Green Papaya”) lush gastronomy-themed romance which competed at the Cannes Film Festival and won best director. The movie is headlined by two of France’s biggest stars, Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel, who won this year’s Cesar Award for “Pacifiction.” “The Pot-au-Feu” was produced by Olivier Delbosc at Curiosa Films and is represented in international markets by Gaumont.  The movie is one of the first titles co-acquired by Sapan Studios and IFC Films as part of their output deal. Sapan Studios is a new TV and film production/distribution company run by former AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Apple TV+ will be tapping into France’s lavish culinary heritage with “Carême,” a new original series about the world’s first celebrity chef, Antonin Carême, which will be directed by Martin Bourboulon (“The Three Musketeers: d’Artagnan”). Set in the 19th century, the eight-episode French drama will chart the sprawling story of Carême, who rose from humble beginnings in Paris to the height of culinary stardom in Napoleon’s Europe. He not only became an iconic chef, he also became a spy for France as his talent and ambitions attracted the attention of powerful politicians, including Napoleon. The series will shed light on the miserable reality of 19th century kitchens, contrasting with the opulence of the mansions and sophisticated of aristocrats.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Vivendi, the parent company of Canal+ Group, has received the green light from the European Commission to proceed with the acquisition of Lagardère, the French media, publishing and travel retail conglomerate. This European Commission has given its approval under Vivendi’s two proposed commitments, starting with the sale of 100% of the share capital of its publishing group Editis, as well as the full sale of Gala magazine. Vivendi said it expects to close both deals by the end of October. It entered into exclusive negotiations to sell Editis to a subsidiary of Czech Media Invest (CMI) founded by Daniel Kretinsky, in March. With the acquisition of Lagardère group, Vivendi’s payroll will rise to 66,000 employees compared to 38,000 at the end of December 2022, with a stronger presence in key markets such as France, the U.K., Spain and the US.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Charades (“Mirai,” “I Lost My Body”) has acquired “Flow,” a 3D animated feature directed by Gints Zilbalodis, the Annie-nominated filmmaker of “Away”. Produced by Sacrebleu Productions, Dream Well Studio and Take Five, “Flow” will be presented in the Work-in-Progress section in Annecy. Zilbalodis penned the feature with Matiss Kaza at Dream Well Studio and Ron Dyens (“Barking Island”) at Sacrebleu Productions who are acting as co-writers and producers. “Flow” is currently in production in Marseille, Paris and Bruxelles, with an expected delivery date during the second quarter of 2024.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Banijay Rights has closed a major sale on its French drama series “Serial Lover” to Spanish broadcaster Atresmedia. “Serial Lover” marks the debut series for Banijay France’s label Shine Fiction, which is co-producing with Amaury Fournial from Sibaro Films. Written by Alice Den Broek and directed by Fred Berthe, “Serial Lover”‘s synopsis bills the show as “the story of a shrewd man who lives many different lives – a pilot, a surgeon, a broker, a journalist; developing a new personality for every identity and deceiving experts in each field. Handsome, charming, and attentive, exhilarated by his power, the deception becomes an art form as he manipulates all those around him, especially women who he targets and steals from. How many women have fallen in this trap?”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pulsar Content and Have a Good One have unveiled an exclusive clip of “Marinette,” Virginie Verrier’s biopic film about the first French female professional soccer player, ahead of its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival. The film stars Garance Marillier, the breakout star of Julia Ducournau’s “Raw” and Palme d’Or winning “Titane,” and is based on Pichon’s bestselling autobiographical book. A pioneer of French women’s soccer, Pichon held for almost two decades the record for the number of goals and caps for the French team (men/women combined). She eventually became the first French player to have a career in the U.S..

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The fourth season of “Emily in Paris” was initially set to start in late summer or early fall in the French capital that gives the show its name, but filming has been delayed by two months due to the writers strike, Variety has learned. That could stretch longer if WGA members remain on the picket line. Netflix declined to comment. The plan is still to start shooting by the end of fall, according to a source close to the streamer. Netflix announced the renewal of Darren Star’s Emmy-nominated romantic comedy in January 2022. Season 3 dropped on the streamer on Dec. 21, 2022 following a massive premiere event in Paris, which lured crowds of overjoyed fans and was attended by Star and the entire cast, including Lily Collins, Ashley Park, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Kate Walsh, Camille Razat, Lucas Bravo, Lucien Laviscount (who wore a shiny purple suit), Bruno Gouery and Samuel Arnold.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic If you’ve ever wondered when it was that Michel Gondry, the gifted French director of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” became the world’s most annoying filmmaker, you might say the answer is, “He always was.” Yet no one, including me, quite thinks of him that way. That’s because the few works of his that have come to prominence possess a special combination of facility and charm. I adore “Eternal Sunshine,” a virtuoso movie that bends your brain and breaks your heart at the same time. You might simply choose to characterize it as the masterpiece of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, but the truth is that Gondry directed it ­— the leaps in time, the emotionally convulsive performances of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet — with a masterful sense of play and gravitational control.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Aside from its Palme d’Or for Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” the French cinema world is also celebrating the near-complete recovery of French box office after the pandemic. Ticket sales are still 11.6 % down on the average levels of 2017 to 2019, but the good news is that the B.O. jumped by 33% with 82.38 million admissions during the first five months of 2023, according to the CNC (National Film Board). The upward trend is driven by the spike in anticipated U.S. movies being released — they skyrocketed from 29 in 2022 to 51 in 2023 during the first five months, according to Comscore France. There’s also been a tide of successful French movies, ranging from big-budget, franchise-based movies like Guillaume Canet’s “Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom,” Philippe Lacheau’s “Alibi.com 2” and Martin Bourboulon’s “The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan,” to original fare like the Omar Sy starrer “Father and Soldier” and François Ozon’s 1950’s-set courtroom comedy “The Crime is Mine.” Maiwenn’s “Jeanne du Barry” starring Johnny Depp ranks as May’s fifth biggest hit with more than 550,000 admissions ($4.3 million) since its world premiere on opening night of the Cannes Film Festival.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After being greeted with a seven-minute standing ovation on opening night of the Cannes Film Festival, Johnny Depp’s comeback movie “Jeanne du Barry,” directed by Maiwenn, has charmed French audiences after debuting in cinemas. The costume drama, which stars Depp as the French King Louis XV and marks his first leading role in three years, has been having a strong run at the French B.O., proving that the controversial star is still bankable. At least in France. The film was widely released by Le Pacte on 650 screens and has grossed nearly $4.1 million from more than 550,000 tickets sold in two weeks, according to Comscore France. Currently playing across 800 screens, the film got mixed reviews in Cannes, but still has the potential of selling up to 850,000 tickets (an estimated $6.4 million), according to Eric Marti at Comscore France.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Cannes Festival’s digital media partner Brut. and leading podcast studio Paradiso Media are launching “Brutally Informed,” a weekly podcast series that just launched exclusively on Audible. The program is part of Audible’s expanding news and non-fiction slate. Hosted by journalists Jared Marcelle, Rheya Spigner, and Noah Jones, “Brutally Informed” aims at delivering insights on issues spanning current affairs, culture, and societal issues with topics ranging from polyamory to the Colorado River to counterfeit sneakers. Each 15-minute episode boasts original interviews and investigative reporting. The audio show is produced by Alex Schuman, with Paradiso Media’s Yael Even Or serving as supervising producer. Executive Producers are Ann Heppermann for Audible, Carly Figueroa for Brut, and Emi Norris for Paradiso.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The Cannes Film Festival managed to avoid pensions reform’s protests and a power cut during its entire duration, but Palme d’Or winning director Justine Triet made up for both with a fiery political speech that took aim at the French government. Her impassioned plea became instantly viral and has been dominating headlines in French media. After being introduced on stage by Jane Fonda and thanking her partners on the film and Cannes’ jury, Triet said the country “was rocked by an unprecedented protest movement that was extremely powerful and unanimous against the pensions reform.” She argued that the “protest was denied and suppressed in a shocking manner, and this pattern of increasingly uninhibited dominating power is now at work in several areas; obviously socially is where it is the most shocking, but we also see it in all spheres of society, and the film industry hasn’t been spared,” said Triet, drawing cheers and a few boos from the captive audience inside the Lumiere Theater.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” one of the best reviewed films of the Cannes competition, which was bought by Neon, examines the collapse of a marriage and a mother-and-son relationship in a documentary-style courtroom drama. The chamber piece is driven by Sandra Hüller’s (“Toni Erdmann”) nuanced performance as a successful German novelist on trial for the murder of her husband (Samuel Theis), who died in mysterious circumstances in a remote corner of the snowy French Alps. Their visually impaired 11-year-old son (Milo Machado Graner) is called on the witness stand, prompting a dissection of Sandra’s conduct as a wife and a mother. Supporting roles are played by Swann Arlaud and Antoine Reinartz.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent A bold departure from France’s cinema tradition of social realism, Thomas Cailley’s widely ambitious sophomore outing “The Animal Kingdom” is equally a creature-filled dystopia, an emotionally charged father-and-son drama and a coming-of-age tale. The character-driven film world premiered to warm reviews at the Cannes Film Festival where it bowed the Un Certain Regard section. “The Animal Kingdom” is represented in international market by Studiocanal and was produced by Pierre Guyard at Nord Ouest Films, and co-produced by Artemis. “The Animal Kingdom” takes place in an undetermined future in France which has been swept by a genetic disease causing people to transform into creatures that are being hunted down and killed or institutionalized by authorities. Kircher, the breakout star of Christophe Honoré’s “Winter Boy,” plays 16-year-old Emile whose mother was institutionalized after showing first signs of a genetic mutation. He lives with his father Francois (Romain Duris) who is struggling to overcome grief.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Kaouther Ben Hania, the Oscar-nominated director of “The Man Who Sold His Skin” whose latest film “Four Daughters” is competing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, will next direct “Mimesis,” an epic love story set in Tunisia. While the plot is under wraps, the story is set in two different periods, the 1990s and the 1940s, paying tribute to cinema and Arab-Muslim cultural heritage. It’s being produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha at Tanit Films, who produced Ben Hania’s “Four Daughters” and her previous film “The Man Who Sold His Skin” which world premiered at Venice where it won best actor for Yahya Mahayni and was nominated for best international film at the Oscars in 2021.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Claude Lelouch, the Oscar-winning director of “A Man and a Woman,” is getting ready to direct “Finalement…,” his next film which he says will be a sort of sequel to his BAFTA-nominated film “Happy New Year” and “L’aventure, l’aventure.” The lighthearted movie will reteam Lelouch with Metropolitan FilmExport which is co-producing with Lelouch’s banner Les Films 13, and will distribute in France. Scored by popular French singer Ibrahim Maalouf, “Finalement…” will boast a large ensemble cast of French stars, including Kad Merad (“Baron Noir”), Elsa Zylberstein (“Simone”), Sandrine Bonnaire, Raphael Mezrahi, Michel Boujenah and Barbara Pravi.