The film is the directorial debut for award-winning commercials and short film-maker Jackie Oudney, with a cast including Hugh Bonneville (Tsunami: The Aftermath, Notting Hill); Anne-Marie Duff (The Virgin Queen, Shameless); Douglas Henshall (Primeval, Lawless Heart); Victoria Hamilton (Scoop, Mansfield Park) and ex-Manchester United football star Eric Cantona.
The screenplay, written by BAFTA-nominated Aschlin Ditta (Scenes of a Sexual Nature), is a romantic comedy that highlights the difference between the French and British approach to love and relationships.
Said director Jackie Oudney: 'On first reading it, I was reminded of Woody Allen's Manhattan by French Film's sharp, witty and wonderfully warm observation of contemporary relationships in a metropolis. Aschlin Ditta has captured beautifully our weaknesses and vulnerabilities in matters such as love. I'm so lucky to be working with some of the UK 's most exciting dramatic and comedic talent.'
Also attached to the project are production company APT Films, with Judy Counihan (No Man's Land) as executive producer. Producers include Arvind Ethan David, Rachel Connors, Jonny Persey and Stuart Le Marechal.
French Film is the second of ten low-budget films slated to be financed and produced by Slingshot over the next three years. The first, Sugarhouse, has just wrapped up and is scheduled for UK release in autumn.
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