French actress and director Sandrine Bonnaire is to direct music biopic Slow Joe.
Slow Joe tells the true story of the late Indian musician Joseph Manuel Da Rocha - “Slow Joe” - chronicling his journey from Goa to international acclaim in France, overcoming a troubled past through music.
Bonnaire joins the project with previously announced Indian actor Jackie Shroff, whose credits include Devdas and Rangeela, who will play Slow Joe, and Narcos and Satanás director of photography Mauricio Vidal.
The English, French and Konkani language feature film will shoot in India and France in early 2025.
It is produced through Singapore-based film production and distribution company, Hazelnut Media (formerly Darpan Global). Co-CEOs Isabella Sreyashii Sen and Olivier Dock are leading production out of Singapore, with musician Cédric de la Chapelle and music producer Olivier Boccon-Gibod, who were both instrumental in Slow Joe’s rise to fame, also on board as associate producers.
Bonnaire’s directing credits include 2007’s Her Name Is Sabine, winner of the Fipresci prize at Cannes, and 2012’s Maddened By His Absence. Bonnaire won the best actress prize at Venice in 1995 for La Cérémonie.
“Joseph Manuel Da Rocha’s story is moving and extraordinary, demonstrating that it’s never too late to overcome adversity and achieve your dreams” said Bonnaire.
Sen said: “Slow Joe is a film that shows how inherent talent can overcome and shine through even the toughest circumstances, and we’re delighted to have the hugely accomplished legend of French cinema Sandrine Bonnaire joining us to direct as we bring Joseph Manuel Da Rocha’s unique and inspirational story to life.”
Dock added: “Sandrine Bonnaire brings a wealth of experience from across the film industry in front of and behind the camera, adeptly portraying the most sensitive subject matters with her transfixing storytelling. Joseph Manuel Da Rocha’s rise to fame is truly intercontinental, and we look forward to following Joe’s journey as we begin shooting in India and France.”
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