Newen Connect is heading to Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous with two French-language ensemble comedies, Family Therapy and Start Me Up.
Family Therapy is the fourth feature from Arnaud Lemort. and follows a man with severe anxiety whose therapist decides he cannot stand him, kicks him out of his practice and challenges him to find the woman of his dreams Christian Clavier and Baptiste Lecaplain star with Claire Chust, Cristiana Réali and Rayane Bensetti.
Produced by TF1 Studio and TF1 Films Production with Atelier de Production, UGC will release the film in France on December 18, 2024.
Start Me Up is directed by Lucien Jean-Baptiste who also stars in the film alongside a veteran local cast including Isabelle Nanty, Gerard Darmon and Zabou Breitman. Jean-Baptiste plays a grandfather who decides to launch a childcare business alongside a bitter divorcee and aging game show icon trying to make a comeback.
Currently in post-production, it is produced by TF1 Studio alongside prolific French production house Nolita Cinema and Jean-Baptiste’s Zamba Productions Apollo Films will release the film in France at the end of 2024.
Start Me Up is Lucien Jean-Baptiste’s seventh feature and sixth fiction film following 2008 breakout hit La Première Etoile and its 2017 sequel Let it Snow, plus crowd-pleasing comedies like He Even Has Your Eyes, Dieu Merci and 30 Degrees Couleur.
Alice Damiani, SVP of international film sales for Newen Connect, told Screen tboth new titles “showcase a wealth of French comedic talent, offering audiences feel-good situational comedy that feel both classic and timeless.”
Rendez-Vous line-up
At Rendez-Vous, TFI-owned Newen Connect will also host market premiere screenings for a trio of star-powered French comedies announced at AFM.
Ludovic Bernard’s Here & There is about two very different cousins who eam up for a culinary tour of France in a race to save someone’s job, return an expat to his home, and then reconnect with their long-lost roots. The film is produced by Philippe Rousselet’s Prélude and Jonathan Blumental alongside TF1 Studio. It is set for an April 2024 release by TF1 Studio and Studiocanal in France.
Charlotte Gainsbourg and José Garcia star in Florent Bernard’s family road trip film Meet The Leroys, while oddball couple Karaoke is about a karaoke-obsessed cleaning lady and a disgraced opera star who have to overcome their clashing personalities and class divide to form an unexpected singing duo that could solve all their problems. Stephane Ben Lahcene directs the latter with a cast headed byMichèle Laroque and Claudia Tagbo.Now in post-production, Karaoke is produced by Les Films du 24, known for French blockbuster franchise Serial (Bad)Weddings and its sequels.The film is set for a March 2024 release via UGC Distribution.
Newen is also bringing Hanna Ladoul and Marco La Via’s buzzy English-language comedy drama Funny Birds executive produced by Martin Scorsese and starring Catherine Deneuve, Andrea Riseborough and Morgan Saylor to Paris. Its slate also includes French wildlife director Guillaume Maidatchevsky’s Arctic fox adventure story Kina & Yuk; and Frederic Forestier and Antonin Fourlon’s ensemble comedy Open Season produced by Curiosa Films and Starman Films about a family who escape the city for some peace and quiet only to find out their property is open for hunting season for the entire village.
Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous in Paris takes place from January 16-23.
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