Audrey Diwan’s highly anticipated English-language Emmanuelle reboot starring Noémie Merlant in the titular role has begun shooting in Paris.
Venice Golden Lion Happening writer-director Diwan announced the start of shoot on her Instagram account in a post reading, “Excitement is the word. Emmanuelle. Day I. @noemiemerlant”.
Her clapperboard image confirmed Rectangle Productions (Happening), Chantelouve and Goodfellas (ex-Wild Bunch International) as the main production partners.
The film is also due to shoot partly in Hong Kong with Ivan Lam (007: Skyfall) handling line production under the banner of Infinite Fun Limited.
Merlant – seen earlier this year as the vindictive, spurned assistant in Tár – was unveiled in February as a replacement for Léa Seydoux, who was originally announced for the lead role back in Cannes 2022.
There has been no official update on other cast members with the production not making further announcements while the SAG-AFTRA strike is ongoing, even though the movie is among 500 independent films to have secured an Interim Agreement.
The Veterans and CAA Media Finance, which handle international sales, will be continuing under the radar talks with buyers during the AFM.
The reboot is inspired by Emmanuelle Arsan’s 1967 novel about a expat woman on a voyage of sexual self-discovery and based on a script co-developed by Diwan and writer and director Rebecca Zlotowski, An Easy Girl and Other People’s Children.
The pair are considered to be among the hottest female writing and director talents working out of France right now.
The budget for the film is expected to be one of the highest for a female-directed feature in the history of French cinema, alongside Maïwenn’s Jeanne du Barry, which had a budget of around $21 million.
Talking to Deadline about the project back in February as Merlant was announced in the lead role, Diwan said that the film would be set against the backdrop of a luxury hotel in Hong Kong.
“I like the idea of its corridors where my characters brush against each other, meet, seek each other,” she said.
“Beyond the question of bodies, I want to explore that of a world that formats any form of relationship, to seek how this system can go wrong, how we connect to others, how we touch our own vulnerability.”