La Daronne
Director Jean-Paul Salomé nets Isabelle Huppert for his eighth feature, La daronne, which is based on a novel by popular crime writer Hannelore Cayre. Produced by Kristina Larsen from Les Films du Lendemain and Jean-Baptiste Dupont from La Boetie Films, the film will feature DP Julien Hirsch (a mainstay of Andre Techine who also recently filmed Huppert in 2018’s Eva), composer Bruno Calais of 2011’s The Artist, and Marite Coutard as costume designer (of Bercot’s 2015 My King). Huppert will be joined by Hippolyte Girardot, Liliane Rovère, Farida Ouchani, Jade Nadja Nguyen, Youssef Sahraoui, Kamel Guenfoud and Iris Bry. Salome’s handful of films haven’t often migrated to the US, but he is probably best known for 2010’s The Chameleon, the narrative version of a famous stolen identity case which later inspired Bart Layton’s 2012 documentary The Imposter.
Gist: Salome, who adapted the novel along with Cayre and his son Antoine Salome stars Huppert as French-Arabic translator Patience Portefeux, who works with the anti-drug squad in Paris. A favor to a friend finds her embroiled in a failed drug deal, and suddenly she’s in possession of a large amount of cannabis. Patience decides to sell the drugs while working for the anti-drug squad.
Release Date/Prediction: Filming began in November of 2018 in Ile-de-France and Oman, with production scheduled through the end of the year. While Salome doesn’t have a strong film festival resume, we’re thinking La daronne could potentially be programmed in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes or perhaps as a competitor in the Platform program in Toronto.
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