This Life of Mine

Source: (c) Christmas in July

‘This Life of Mine’

Paris-based sales company The Party has added an eclectic blend of new titles to its 2024 line-up including Sophie Fillières’ posthumous This Life of Mine, Oscar nominated Four Daughters director Kaouther Ben Hania’s next film and a Franco-Vietnamese musical comedy.

The Party is kicking off sales at Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous in Paris this week for Fillières’ seventh feature, the comedy drama  This Life Of Mine.

Fillières died in July 2023, at age 58, shortly after completing filming - sending shockwaves through the French film industry. Her family took the reins and her children are supervising the edit for the film about a 55 year-old woman nicknamed Barbie who travels to the Scottish Highlands to escape the harsh realities of her life. Agnès Jaoui and Philippe Katherine star alongside Valérie Donzelli, Edouard Sulpice, Angelina Woreth and Emmanuel Salinger. The film, produced by France’s Christmas in July, is set for a 2024 release in France via Jour2fête.

Fillières’ films have appeared at global festivals over the years including Ouch in Locarno, Nice Girl in Toronto, and Pardon My French and If You Don’t I Will in Berlin.

Meanwhile, Ben Hania’s upcoming fictional feature You Shall Not Make An Image  Is in pre-production and looking to shoot in the summer of 2024 with a 2025 delivery. The plot remains under wraps. It is being produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha at Tanit Films, who produced Ben Hania’s Four Daughters which has been shortlisted for best documentary feature and best international feature Oscars after premiering in Cannes.

In the Nguyen Kitchen

Source: (c) Respiro Productions

‘In the Nguyen Kitchen’

Also on The Party’s slate is Stéphane Ly-Cuong’s musical comedy which has the working title of In the Nguyen Kitchen. It follows a Franco-Vietnamese actress who dreams of becoming a successful musical star to the dismay of her mother. They end up growing closer within the confines of the family’s Vietnamese restaurant as a big audition approaches.

Produced by Respiro Productions, the debut feature is in post-production and Jour2Fête will release it in France later in the year. The film stars Clotilde Chevalier, Anh Tran Nghia, Gael Kamilindi and Thomas Jolly, who has notably been appointed artistic director of the upcoming Paris Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies.

The Party will also host market screenings for several titles on its Rendez-Vous Paris slate including Pascal Plisson’s documentary We Have A Dream, Karim Bensalah’s Six Feet Over that won the best screenplay prize at Red Sea IFF 2023, Maya Kenig’s The Milky Way that earned a special jury mention Critics’ Pick at Tallinn Black Nights, and Nara Normande and Tiao’s first feature Heartless that competed at Venice’s Orizzonti.