Julie Delpy to direct film in the UK
French multi-hyphenate Julie Delpy is heading to the UK next year to direct and star in feature film My Zoe with Gemma Arterton and Daniel Bruhl.
The actor, singer-songwriter director and screenwriter will be calling the shots from her own screenplay, a film described by Delpy as being about “the unconditional love you feel as a parent.”
It centres on the lengths to which a mother’s love goes for her child. Delpy plays Isabelle, a geneticist recovering from a toxic marriage and raising her daughter Zoe in conjunction with her ex-husband.
When the family is hit by tragedy, Isabelle must take matters into her own hands. Arterton and Bruhl play a couple to whom Isabelle turns for help in Moscow. Lior Ashkenazy is also attached.
Producer Gabrielle Tana of NYC-based Magnolia Mae Films is on board to produce for Baby Cow Films – she is head of film at the UK shingle’s feature production arm. Tana has extensive experience of filming in the UK, having worked on several high-profile projects including Philomena, Mindhorn, The Invisible Woman and The Duchess.
Delpy said of the long-gestating project: ““I started thinking and taking notes about this film over 20 years ago,” said Delpy. “It first came to my mind discussing with [director Krzysztof] Kieslowski about parenting, love and fate. It was a very profound process to write it. I gave it all the truth I had and I hope it resonates with others.”
My Zoe will be co-produced by Hubert Caillard and Dominique Boutonnat for Electrik Films in France.
PI subscribers should follow the project on our site from 3 December to receive regular email updates as HoDs board and dates and locations are locked down.
Julie Delpy photo via Getty Images Ent/Pablo Cuadra.
Also on The Knowledge
Shetland wins double recommission
The BBC has ordered two more series of detective drama Shetland with the first (Series 9) filming this month.
Bank of Dave the Sequel begins northern shoot
Filming gets underway today (26 February) on the Netflix sequel to 2023 feature Bank of Dave with shooting taking place largely in Burnley and Leeds.
Filming underway on new series of Strike
Strike, The Ink Black Heart – the sixth instalment of the detective drama - has begun filming.
Feature film Lola and Freddie to shoot in London this summer
A new feature film, Lola and Freddie, will shoot in London locations this summer with Naomie Harris, Joel Fry, Jameela Jamil and Olivia Lee leading the cast.
Construction commences on BBC's West Midlands production hub as new series is greenlit
Ground has been broken on The Tea Factory, a new BBC production hub in the West Midlands that promises to be the BBC’s greenest building, with a new series featuring Billy Billingham to be produced in the region.
Ralph Fiennes to direct and star in The Beacon
Ralph Fiennes is set to make his screenwriting feature debut with The Beacon; he will also direct.