10/01/2019 - The actress is toplining the feature debut by Manele Labidi, which is currently in post-production, and which is being staged by Kazak

Arab Blues [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Manele Labidi
film profile] by Manele Labidi is currently in post-production. Standing out in the lead role of the feature debut by the French-Tunisian filmmaker (who took part in La Fémis’ screenplay workshop in 2016) is Golshifteh Farahani (nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress in 2014 for The Patience Stone [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and for the Lumières Award for Best New Actress in 2016 for Les deux amis [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], also popular in titles such as About Elly, My Sweet Pepper Land [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Paterson [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], and set to grace screens this year in L’angle mort – see the article).

The story, written by the director (who won the Grand Prix for Best Screenwriter with the script in 2017), revolves around Selma Derwish, a 35-year-old woman who, after working in France, opens her own psychoanalytical practice in a working-class suburb of Tunis. After truly epic beginnings – with some people mistaking the bearded Freud for a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and others confusing “chargeable sessions” with a totally different kind of chargeable service – in the wake of the Revolution, there turns out to be significant demand for her skills in this schizophrenic country. As Selma is beginning to find her footing, she discovers that she needs a permit to practise, which is vital if she wants to carry on working…

Produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond for Kazak Productions, with Amaury Ovise on board as associate producer, Arab blues was co-produced by Arte France Cinéma. Having been pre-purchased by Canal+ and OCS, the feature has also secured backing from the Cinéveture, Cofimage, Cofinova, Indéfilms and Cinémage 13 Soficas. Shooting took place in September and October, with Laurent Brunet serving as DoP. The French distribution will be handled by Diaphana.

As a reminder, Kazak Productions recently produced Savage [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Vincent Mariette and Sophia Antipolis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Virgil Vernier
film profile] by Virgil Vernier (unveiled at Locarno, in Filmmakers of the Present), and co-produced Roads [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Germany’s Sebastian Schipper (see the article – set to be released in Germany on 30 May). Other titles standing out in the company’s filmography include The Price of Success [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Teddy Lussi-Modeste
film profile] by Teddy Lussi-Modeste (selected for Toronto and for the New Directors section of San Sebastián in 2017), Corporate [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Nicolas Silhol
film profile] by Nicolas Silhol (in competition at Karlovy Vary in 2017), A Taste of Ink [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Morgan Simon
film profile] by Morgan Simon (Special Mention in New Directors at San Sebastián in 2016) and The Wakhan Front [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Clément Cogitore (Cannes Critics’ Week in 2015).

(Translated from French)