Pietro Marcello’s French-language period drama “Scarlet” is set to open the 54th edition of Cannes’ Directors Fortnight on May 18.
Weaving musical and fantasy elements, the film is set in Northern Normandy, between the two world wars, a time of great inventions, and follows the journey of a young woman who was raised by her father, a widowed war veteran, and strives to find her own path in life.
Marcello, a critically acclaimed Italian filmmaker whose credits include the Venice prize-winning “Martin Eden,” penned the script with his regular screenwriting partner Maurizio Braucci (“Gomorra”), as well as Maud Ameline (“Amanda”), with the participation of the novelist Geneviève Brisac.
“Scarlet” is produced by Charles Gillibert at CG Cinema (“Mustang,” “Annette”) with Avventurosa and Rai Cinema in Italy, in collaboration with Ilya Stewart (Hype Film) and Antonio Miyakawa (Wise Pictures). Orange Studio is handling international sales while Le Pacte will distribute it in France.
The movie is headlined by Juliette Jouan, Raphaël Thierry (“Staying Vertical”), Louis Garrel (“DNA”), Noémie Lvovsky (“Camille Rewinds”), among others.
The full lineup of Directors Fortnight will be unveiled on April 19. This year will mark Paolo Moretti’s third and last edition as artistic director of the program. Last year’s top prize was awarded to Jonas Carpignano who picked up the Europa Cinemas Cannes Label award for his film “A Chiara.” Vincent Maël Cardona, meanwhile, won the SACD prize for “Magnetic Beats.” The 23-title lineup also included 10 feature debuts, including “Murina” by Croatian-American filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic who took home the Golden Camera Award.