Palme d’Or winning actress Léa Seydoux will star in Happening filmmaker Audrey Diwan’s English-language directorial debut, Emmanuelle, inspired by Emmanuelle Arsan’s novel and based on a script co-developed by Diwan and Rebecca Zlotowski.The Arsan book follows a young woman’s sexual journey from the arms of her husband to intimate encounters with the wives of his business associates, to further explorations wherein the philosophical and aesthetic facets of eroticism are expounded—and enacted—to the fullest degree.Diwan’s second feature, Happening, adapted from Annie Ernaux’s book recounting her illegal abortion in the 1960s, received the Golden Lion at the 2021 Venice Film Festival; four César Award nominations, including a win for Most Promising Newcomer for Anamaria Vartolomei; and a BAFTA Award nomination; among other honors.
The pic features a cast of stellar emerging French acting talent including Anamaria Vartolomei, Kacey Mottet-Klein and Luana Bajrami.Diwan’s feature directorial debut, Losing It, was released in 2019 and starred Pio Marmaï and Céline Sallette.Zlotowski’s credits include the award-winning Belle Epine (Dear Prudence), Grand Central, and The Summoning.
In 2019, she directed her first mini-series, Savages, for Canal Plus, co-written and adapted from a novel by Sabri Louatah. Her fourth film, An Easy Girl, premiered in Directors’ Fortnight in 2018 and won the SACD Prize.
She is currently in post-production on Other People’s Children. Seydoux returns to Cannes this year with two films premiering at the festival: David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future and One Fine Morning from Mia Hansen-Love.
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