SND Hosts Market Premieres on ‘Maigret,’ ‘Employee of The Month,’ ‘The Bodins’ at Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy
·3 min read
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SND is set to host market premieres for Patrice Leconte’s period detective film “Maigret,” as well as high concept comedies “Employee of the Month” and “The Bodins” at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris, a showcase of French content hosted this week in Paris.

“Maigret,” based on Georges Simenon’s literary masterpiece, will star Gérard Depardieu (“Cyrano de Bergerac”) as detective Maigret, who investigates the death of a young girl in 1953. During his inquiry, Maigret crosses paths with Betty, a young offender who reminds him of the dead girl. The movie will be released by SND on April 6.

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“We’ve pre-sold ‘Maigret’ across 90% of Europe, it’s really a highlight on our slate due to the strength of the franchise, director and cast – Gerard Depardieu is outstanding in this role,” said Ramy Nahas, head of international sales at SND.

“Employee of the Month” will be directed by French comedian Jerome Commandeur who will also star alongside Laetitia Dosch (“Montparnasse Bienvenue”), Christian Clavier (“Serial (Bad) Weddings”), Valérie Lemercier (“Aline, The Voice of Love”). Produced in-house by SND, “Employee of the Month” is an adaptation of the Italian B.O. hit “Quo Vado.”

Commandeur stars as Vincent, a public servant who gets transferred from one senseless job to another until he gets sent to the North Pole where he meets Eva, a scientist who changes his perspective on life. The movie will be released in France on March 30.

SND, which is the commercial arm of French network M6, has started doing more and more in-production in order to control the IP’s, as other French film groups such as Gaumont, Studiocanal and Pathé.

“The Bodins” was released in France in November and has sold 1.7 million tickets. The film ranked as one of the top grossing French movies of 2021, pointed out Tristan Martin at SND.

Other market screening from SND include “Spiral,” a dark-edged drama thriller directed by Anne Le Ny (“Almost Friends”), and starring José Garcia (“Little White Lies 2”) and André Dussollier (“Roommates Wanted”). Garcia stars as a man who discovers his wife cheated on him and accidently kills her. Worried that the police will not believe it was an accident, he decides to hide the truth and shares his secret with his daughter who starts doubting him. The movie will be released on Oct. 5.

SND will show a promo reel for “Finally Retired,” a comedy starring Michèle Laroque (“The Closet”) and Thierry Lhermitte (“The French Minister”). Directed by Fabrice Bracq, the movie is the sequel of “Just Retired,” which did well at the French box office.

New SND projects being launched at the Rendez-Vous include “Killing Blues,” Cecilia Rouaud’s “(Photo de famille”) crime comedy starring Vanessa Paradis and Francois Damiens, who previously co-starred in the popular comedy “Heartbreaker.” Damiens stars in “Killing Blues” as a hitman afraid of blood who becomes a real estate agent. SND will launch pre-sales on the project with the script.

SND’s roster also includes “Abbé Pierre, a Century of Devotion,” a biopic of France’s most famous Catholic priest. The movie is produced by SND and Wassim Beji, who previously teamed on “Yves Saint Laurent.”

“It’s our biggest project this year, with a budget of €15 million and we got great feedback when we launched it at the AFM with a script,” said Nahas. The company will unveil the mood reel at the virtual European Film Market.

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