LA BELLE PERSONNE Official Selection: London Film Festival (2008), Namur International Francophone Film Festival (2008), San Sebastian International Film Festival (2008) Best Actress prize for Léa Seydoux at the Namur International Francophone Film Festival (2008) West Coast Premiere Drama France, 2008 In French with English subtitles 35mm/1.85/Color/Dolby SRD/97 min Directed by: Christophe Honoré Written by: Christophe Honoré, Gilles Taurand Based on a novel by: Madame de Lafayette Cinematography by: Laurent Brunet Editing by: Chantal Hymans Original Music by: Alex Beaupain Produced by: Sophie Barrat, Florence Dormoy, Joëy Faré Production Company: Scarlett Production, Arte France Cinéma International sales: LE PACTE 5, rue Darcet 75017 Paris Tel: +33 1 44 69 59 59 www.le-pacte.com U.S. Distributor IFC FILMS 11 Penn Plaza, 18th floor New York, NY 10001 www.ifcfilms.com www.labellepersonne-lefilm.com With: Léa Seydoux (Junie), Louis Garrel (Nemours), Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet (Otto), Estéban Carjaval (Mathias), Simon Truxillo (Henri), Agathe Bonitzer (Marie) An adaptation of La Princesse de Clèves, The Beautiful Person is set in a contemporary French high-school. After the death of her mother, Junie arrives at her cousin Mathias’ school in the middle of the year. A beautiful girl, she quickly attracts the attention of Mathias’ male friends, who compete to win her heart. Although she starts a relationship with shy and reserved Otto (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Strayed, Love Songs, In the Arms of My Enemy), soon a mutual passion develops between Junie and Italian teacher Nemours (Louis Garrel, The Dreamers, Inside Paris, Love Songs), an incorrigible seducer already involved in an affair with a fellow teacher and a student. While Junie resists what she sees as an illusion of love and remains faithful to Otto, Nemours becomes increasingly confused and falls in love with her. ABOUT CHRISTOPHE HONORÉ Christophe Honoré first made his mark writing novels and children’s books dealing with sensitive topics such as AIDS or homosexual parenting, as in Close to Leo (1995), which he later adapted for television (released on DVD in the U.S. by Picture This! Entertainment). After writing for Les Cahiers du Cinéma under the pen name Roland Cassard, an homage to Jacques Demy, he made his first feature film, Seventeen Times Cécile Cassard (2002), presented at the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard. In 2004, he boldly adapted Georges Bataille’s highly controversial novel My Mother, with Isabelle Huppert and his signature actor Louis Garrel in the title roles. Strongly influenced by New-Wave directors Godard and Truffaut, his following three features Inside Paris, Love Songs and The Beautiful Person have confirmed Christophe Honoré as a rising auteur in contemporary French cinema. PRESS “…“La Belle Personne,” directed by Christophe Honoré (who wrote the script with Gilles Taurand), combines an earnest respect for literature with a romantic, pop sensibility, though its mood is more fretful than playful. (…) Mr. Honoré, a writer for Cahiers du Cinéma before he was a director, taps into a familiar filmic iconography with almost scholarly rigor, evoking the spirit of Jean-Luc Godard, another Cahiers veteran.” (The New York Times) “A stylish, insouciant affair…it should easily find ready buyers and a sophisticated international arthouse audience. (…) With a cast led by Honoré's regular leading man Louis Garrel opposite rising talent Lea Seydoux, this makes a merit out of its lack of documentary realism and its erotic love of surface beauty.” (Screen International) “…People do nutty things in the name of love during the course of Christophe Honoré’s movies: burst into impromptu duets, dance on window ledges, demand that strangers reciprocate instant crushes. The French filmmaker’s latest ode to l’amour fou is set in the hormonally charged world of high school, thus underwriting an unprecedented level of emotional volatility.” (Time Out New York)