17/03/2023 - Raphaël Personnaz, Doria Tillier, Jeanne Balibar, Emmanuelle Devos and Suzanne Clément lead the cast of this Ciné-@ and Cinéfrance Studios production, sold by SND

Actor Raphaël Personnaz (© Georges Biard) and actresses Doria Tillier (© Georges Biard), Jeanne Balibar (© Georges Biard), Emmanuelle Devos (© Plyd) and Suzanne Clément (© Ross/Hamilton On)

Shooting has kicked off in Paris, as of 9 March, on Boléro [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the 19th feature film by Anne Fontaine who has so far presented films in competition in Venice (awarded the Best Screenplay Prize in 1997 thanks to Dry Cleaning), San Sebastián (In His Hands [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in 2005) and Locarno (How I Killed My Father [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in 2001), as well as showcasing countless feature films in other major festivals (notably three in Cannes, Agnus Dei [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lou de Laâge
film profile] at Sundance 2016, and Night Shift [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Anne Fontaine
film profile] out of competition in Berlin in 2020, to name a few).

For her new opus revolving around Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) - one of the greatest French composers of the 20th century to whom we owe the famous Boléro - the filmmaker has assembled a cast comprising Raphaël Personnaz (awarded 2017’s Best Newcomer Lumière for The French Minister [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and recently seen in Our Brothers [+see also:
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trailer
film profile]), Doria Tillier (nominated for the 2018 and 2020 Best Actress Césars via Mr & Mrs Adelman [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and La Belle époque [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicolas Bedos
film profile], and recently seen in Nobody’s Hero [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alain Guiraudie
film profile], Smoking Causes Coughing [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] and The Origin of Evil [+see also:
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trailer
film profile]), Jeanne Balibar (who scooped the 2018 Best Actress César and Lumière trophies for Barbara [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] and was recently seen in the series Irma Vep [+see also:
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interview: Olivier Assayas
series profile]), Emmanuelle Devos (handed the 2002 Best Actress César, nominated in 2005 and 2018, and recently seen in Mascarade [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicolas Bedos
film profile]), Canada’s Suzanne Clément (named Best Actress in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2012 thanks to Laurence Anyways, recently seen in The Origin of Evil, and hitting French cinemas very soon in Let’s Get Lost [+see also:
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trailer
interview: François Pirot
film profile]), Sophie Guillemin (soon to be seen in L’île rouge) and Vincent Perez (nominated for the 1998 and 1999 Best Supporting Role Césars, and seen last year in the American series Shantaram).

Penned by the director together with Claire Barré in collaboration with Jacques Fieschi and Pierre Trividic, the story is a loose adaptation of Marcel Marnat’s book Maurice Ravel. It looks back at the origins of the Bolero, when it was nothing but a simple command made by choreographer Ida Rubinstein to Maurice Ravel. The latter obeys as if a kind of exercise. But as the composition advances the work takes on a wholly unexpected dimension, reminding the musician of his demons but also the wonders he has worked...

Boléro is produced by Philippe Carcassonne on behalf of Ciné-@ and by David Gauquié and Julien Deris for Cinéfrance Studios, in co-production with F Comme Film, France 2 Cinéma and Belgium’s Artémis Productions. The feature film has been pre-purchased by Netflix and France Télévisions, and also enjoys a receipt on advances from the CNC alongside backing from the Ile-de-France region. The eight-week film shoot will take place in the Paris region, Brittany and Belgium, wrapping on 10 May. Photography is entrusted to Christophe Beaucarne (awarded the 2022 César in his category for Lost Illusions [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xavier Giannoli
film profile] and nominated a further five times since 2010) and music to Bruno Coulais (nominated for the 2005 Oscar and the winner of three Césars). International sales fall to SND who are also steering distribution in France.

(Translated from French)