PRODUCTION / FUNDING France
by Fabien Lemercier
– The second feature by the director revealed in Cannes in 2018 is toplined by Pallavi Sharda and Julien de Saint Jean and steered by Marianne Productions
Actress Pallavi Sharda and actor Julien de Saint Jean
Rohena Gera has been shooting Stay, her second feature film after Sir [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (discovered in Cannes’ Critics’ Week in 2018), since 18 February.
The Indian filmmaker has pulled together a cast led by Indo-Australian actress Pallavi Sharda (primarily at her best in Spit and in the Pulse and Retrograde series) and French rising star Julien de Saint Jean (highly acclaimed in The Count of Monte Cristo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and in the The Seduction series, and hitting screens this year in Demande à la montagne, Le Fantôme de l’Opéra and Le Cœur fou).
Written by the director, the story revolves around Sailee, the daughter of a rich Indian family who leaves for Paris following her divorce to escape society’s watchful eye. Here, she makes the acquaintance of Léo, a young delivery driver with a head full of dreams and with whom she sees an opportunity to assert herself and become someone else. Far from home, they seem safe from their cultural and social differences, but these soon catch up with them…
Stay is being produced by Alice Bloch on behalf of Marianne Productions in co-production with France 2 Cinéma. Pre-purchased by Canal+, Ciné+ OCS and France Télévisions, the feature film also enjoys an advance on receipts from the CNC, as well as support from the Ile-de-France region and the SOFICA companies Entourage, Cinécap and Indéfilms. The 34-day film shoot will take place in India (until 12 March) and Paris (from 23 March to 16 April), with Dominique Colin heading up photography. Distribution in French cinemas will fall to Ad Vitam.
For the record, Marianne Productions are also currently overseeing post-production on Maxime Roy’s Ma révérence (read our article) and on Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni’s co-production Un détour par Diane (article).
(Translated from French)
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