Co-produced by Fidelité Film (FR), Sirena Film (CZ) and Scope Pictures (BE) and filmed entirely in the Czech Republic, Xavier Giannoli’s Marguerite has been selected for the main competition at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival (2–12 September 2015).
Photo courtesy of Artcam Film Distribution
Marguerite Dumont is a wealthy woman living in Paris of the 1920s with passion for music and opera. For years she has been performing regularly in front of her circle of friends. Marguerite sings tragically out of tune and no one has ever dared to tell her the truth. Her husband and her surrounding have always kept her in her diva’s illusions. These are going to shatter soon, as Marguerite decides she has to perform in front of a real audience at the Opera.
French director Xavier Giannoli (In the Beginning – Cannes Competition 2006, The Singer – Cannes Competition 2009, Superstar – Venice Competition 2012) chose actress Catherine Frot (Haute Cuisine, The Page Turner) to play the lead role in Marguerite. In the Czech Republic, filming took place mainly in Prague, in the Vinohrady Theatre and at Charles University’s Faculty of Law, as well as at Slapy Chateau in central Bohemia and the Mahen Theatre in Brno.
The shoot lasted 55 days (from September to November) with production budget of 200 million crowns and Czech spent of 80 million crowns. The film got a rebate from the Czech film incentives scheme and was supported by Eurimages.
“This is another example of the benefits which incentives bring – apart from the financial benefits. Thanks to the incentives, Czech producers can connect with foreign projects and the global scene and become full partners of foreign producers. And, in an instant, the Czech Republic can have representation at a prestigious festival like Venice,” says Helena Bezděk Fraňková, the Director of the Czech National Cinematography Fund.
According to Ludmila Claussová, the head of the Czech Film Commission, the ability to co-produce quality international projects shows that the Czech Republic has excellent filmmaking facilities and a wide range of talent, she says. “This obviously attracts the attention of other foreign producers and the effect is multiplied. In today’s film world, we must think globally if we are to keep pace,” adds Claussová.
“I entered the coproduction of Marguerite in a very early stage of production. The quality of the script and the talent of the director excited me – I knew we are going to do a great movie. We are now proud of Marguerite’s selection into the Venice Film festival competition, which open greatly the film festival career of the movie. Moreover, Marguerite will be distributed in more than 100 countries on all continents,” says Artemio Benki, co-owner of Sirena Film and Czech co-producer of the movie.
Marguerite will compete for the top prize along with 11 other films, including Beasts of No Nation by Cary Fukunaga, recently praised for the successful series True Detective, and Atom Egoyan’s Remember. Whether Marguerite wins the Golden Lion will be known on 12 September.
