“This story imposed itself on me as a tale of survival, as a desire to say loud and clear the one thing that many people do not want to hear, or simply reject outright; what is more intolerable than the rape of a child? (…) It’s an observation of a struggle to exist, to breathe, to survive…” This is how Andréa Bescond describes the stage play Les Chatouilles ou la danse de la colère, which she wrote and performed as a one-woman show with direction by Eric Métayer, and which earned a string of prizes, including the Molière Award for One-person Show in 2016, the Best Actress Award at the Critiques Avignon Off, the SACD New Theatre Talent Award and the Académie Française’s Young Talent Award. And Bescond has decided to bring this story of a sexually abused child who finds salvation in dance – a dramatic tale but one devoid of any pathos, and which also verges on comedy – to the big screen by pairing up with her partner. The feature debut already has a dazzling life ahead of it, as it will enjoy a world premiere in the Un Certain Regard selection of the 71st Cannes Film Festival (8-19 May).

Little Tickles [+lee también:
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The story, penned by Andréa Bescond and Eric Metayer, revolves around Odette. She is eight years old, and likes dancing and drawing. Why would she be wary of a friend of her parents’ who suggests a “game of tickles”? Now an adult, Odette expresses her anger through dance, speaks freely and embraces life. 

Produced by François Kraus and Denis Pineau-Valencienne for Les Films du Kiosque, Little Tickles had a budget of €3.42 million, including a co-production and a pre-purchase by France 2 Cinéma. Having also been pre-purchased by Canal+ and OCS, the feature will be out in French theatres on 26 September, courtesy of Orange Studio and UGC Distribution. The international sales are being overseen by Orange Studio. Interestingly, the cinematography was entrusted to Pierre Aïm (nominated three times for the César Award in his category, including for Poliss in 2012, garnering acclaim more recently with his work on The Nile Hilton Incident [+lee también:
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