Breathless_Dir Jean-Luc Godard_Credit NANA PRODUCTIONS-SIPA-Shutterstock_12680256b

Source: Nana productions / Shutterstock

‘Breathless’

Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, which reconstructs the genesis and filming of Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard, is among the recipients of the first round of CNC’s ‘avance sur recettes’ (advance on receipts) grants of 2024.

The film, the first entirely in French from US director Linklater, is now in production in Paris. It is being produced by Paris-based ARP Productions and stars Zooey Deutsch as American Breathless star Jean Seberg.

Vince Palmo, Holly Gent, Michèle Halberstadt, and Laetitia Masson join Linklater as co-writers.

The CNC’s refundable grant is broken into three categories. ASR 1 gives funds to directors’ first films, ASR 2 for directors’ second and third films, and ASR 3 for directors’ fourth or later projects. Linklater’s feature qualified in the ASR 3 category.

Other ASR 3 recipients include Des Femmes Comme Les Autres by Dominique Cabrera, produced by Everybody On Deck and Ad Libitum; and two documentaries: Une Jeunesse Russe by Patric Chiha, produced by Aurora Films, and D’un Corps À L’autre by Mariana Otero, produced by GoGoGo Films and Survivance.

Debut feature projects to receive funding from the ASR 1 are J’étais Le Même directed by Soufiane Adel (produced by Société Acéphale), Nino from Pauline Loquès (Blue Monday Productions) and Laurent Dans Le Vent helmed by Anton Balekdjian, Léo Couture and Mattéo Eustachon (Mabel Films), and the animated Ogresse from directors Cécile McLorin Salvant and Lia Bertels (Miyu Productions).

Recipients of the ASR 2 category are Meteors by Hubert Charuel (produced by Domino Films), whose debut feature Bloody Milk won 2018’s best first film and best actor César awards; two animated features Mu Yi Et Le Beau Général by Julien Chheng (Studio La Cachette) and Happy End from Marie Amachoukeli (Miyu Productions); and documentary Il Cattivo È Cattivo, Il Buono È Buono from Elsa Amiel (Les Films du Bilboquet).

Each year, approximately 55 French-speaking projects at the script stage are chosen to receive the grants based on their cultural value, with recommendations coming from committees of producers, directors, distributors, writers, publishers and critics, including actor and filmmaker Valérie Donzelli; producers Charles Gillibert, Manuel Munz and Catherine Bozorgan; and filmmakers Mona Achache and Régis Wargnier.

The president of the CNC then decides who receives the funding. The president is Dominique Boutonnat, who is currently awaiting trial for alleged sexual assault in France. The trial will commence on June 14. He remains in post and strongly denies the accusations.