19/04/2024 - Produced by Ex Nihilo and sold by Pyramide, Louise Courvoisier’s debut feature film is set to world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section

A graduate of CinéFabrique, Louise Courvoisier will be returning to the Croisette next month where she previously won first prize in the 2019 Cinéfondation competition with her short film Mano a Mano. But this time around, the 29-year-old French filmmaker will be playing in the big league given that her first feature film, Holy Cow, has been selected for the Un Certain Regard section of the 77th Cannes Film Festival (running 14 – 25 May).

Wholly composed of non-professional actors, the film’s cast notably stars Clément Favreau, Luna Garret, Mathis Bernard and Dimitri Baudry.

Written by the director together with Théo Abadie, the story follows 18-year-old Totone who spends most of his time drinking beers and going from ball to ball in the Jura region with his gang of friends. But reality soon catches up with him: he has to look after his seven-year-old sister and find a way to earn a crust. With this in mind, he sets out to make the best comté in the region, with a view to winning gold in the agricultural show and 30,000 euros to boot.

Holy Cow is produced by Muriel Meynard for Agat Films & Ex Nihilo, in co-production with France 3 Cinéma and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma. The feature film is pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+, and enjoys further support from the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. Cinematography is headed up by Elio Balezeaux (Madame Hofmann) and international sales by Pyramide, who are also overseeing distribution in French cinemas.

Agat Films & Ex Nihilo are similarly set to unveil Emmanuel Courcol’s En fanfare in the Cannes Première line-up on the Croisette (read our article), as well as Antoine Chevrollier’s La Pampa within Critics’ Week, and Eat The Night by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel in the Directors’ Fortnight.

(Translated from French)