THE VILLAIN Le Vilain Festival Selection: French Film Festival of Greenwich (2010), Namur International Francophone Film Festival, Regards du présent (2009) West Coast Premiere Comedy France, 2009 In French with English subtitles 35mm/Scope/Color/86 min Written and directed by: Albert Dupontel Cinematography by: Pierre-Yves Bastard Editing by: Christophe Pinel Music by: Christophe Julien Produced by: Catherine Bozorgan Production Company: ADCB Films Coproduction: France 2 Cinéma, StudioCanal, Euro Média Télévision International Sales: StudioCanal 1, place du Spectacle 92863 Issy-les Moulineaux France Phone: +33 1.71.35.35.35 www.studiocanal.com Cast: Catherine Frot (Maniette), Albert Dupontel (Sidney Thomas, aka The Villain), Bouli Lanners (Nick Korazy), Nicolas Marié (Dr Jean William), Christine Murillo (Miss Somoza), Bernard Farcy (Inspector Elliot), Philippe Duquesne (Redhead Painter), Xavier Robic (Korazy’s Secretary), Husky Kihal (Colleague Painter), Jacqueline Hervé (Huguette) Sidney Thomas (Albert Dupontel) has always been a rotten individual, even as a child. Now on the run after a botched bank robbery, he sees no other solution than to go visit his estranged mother Maniette (Catherine Frot, The Page Turner, The Dinner Game), in order to hide at her home. Maniette is happy at first to see her son after 20 years. But soon, she has an epiphany and realizes all the evil he has done since childhood. With the belief that her own life is cursed for giving birth to such a villain, she decides to give her son some of his own medicine. A burlesque good vs. evil struggle ensues between mother and son, but they ultimately bond in order to stop a group of dishonest promoters to buy their house and the whole neighborhood. ALBERT DUPONTEL started his acting career in the 1988 with Gang of Four, co-written and directed by Jacques Rivette. He became well-known in France in the early 1990s as a stand-up comedian, with his provocative one man show Sale spectacle. César nominated for his performances in A Self-made Hero (1996), and Sach’s Disease (2000), he has also acted in Irreversible (2002), Avenue Montaigne (COL•COA 2006) and Paris (COL•COA 2008). Parallel to his acting career, he has written and directed three feature films before The Villain, praised for their dry and unique humor: Bernie (1996), César nominated for Best First Film, The Creator (1999), and Locked Out (COL•COA 2006).