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PRODUCTION / FUNDING France

Les Cobayes now in post-production

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- Thomas Ngijol and Judith Chemla lead the cast of Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud’s first feature film, produced by Fluxus Films in league with Davis Films and set to be sold by Kinology

Les Cobayes now in post-production
Actor Thomas Ngijol, director Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud and actress Judith Chemla

On 6 November, Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud wrapped six weeks of filming on his first full-length film, Les Cobayes. An auteur comedy which revolves around the question of whether it’s possible to build a lasting, loving relationship in a society which tends towards immediacy and individualism, the filmmaker (highly acclaimed for his short films The Testicle in 2015 and Villa Graciosa in 2017) has in this instance united Thomas Ngijol (Back To Square One [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Fastlife, Crocodile from Botswanga [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
) and Judith Chemla (nominated for the 2017 Best Actress César thanks to A Woman’s Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Stéphane Brizé
film profile
]
, crowned Most Promising Young Actress at the 2013 Lumières awards for Camille Rewinds [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, and recently well-received in Cannes in Burning Ghost [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and in Venice in The End of Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
) at the head of the cast. Joining them are Dominique Valadié (Our Struggles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillaume Senez
film profile
]
, Under the Rainbow [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), Stephan Wojtowicz (Augustine [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, L’étudiante et Monsieur Henri [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), Spain’s Agustín Galiana (of French series Clem), Joséphine Draï (of the series The Hook-Up Plan) and Thomas VDB (chiefly seen in La ch’tite famille [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
).

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Written by the director alongside Noé Debré (nominated for the 2016 Best Screenplay César for Dheepan [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Jacques Audiard
film profile
]
and whose body of work also includes the scripts for Racer and the Jailbird [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Roskam
film profile
]
and Cowboys [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), the story centres around Charlotte and Adam who have loved one another for ten years and who have just welcomed their first child into the world. Routine has set in and their love is somewhat diluted. In an attempt to give their relationship a boost, Charlotte and Adam become "guinea pigs" and test a new miracle pill in the hope that it rekindles their flame. The experiment is a success, breathing fresh life into their relationship. But once the test is over, will they still be capable of reinventing their love and making it last?

Produced by Gaëlle Mareschi on behalf of Fluxus Films (who already partnered with the director on his previous, short works) and co-produced by Victor Hadida for Davis Films, Les cobayes has been pre-purchased by OCS and will be distributed next year in France by Metropolitan Filmexport. International sales, meanwhile, will be helmed by Kinology.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

(Translated from French)

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