Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2016: #86. Marc Fitoussi’s Maman a tort

Trainee Day

Director: Marc Fitoussi
Writer: Marc Fitoussi

French director Marc Fitoussi is one of several notable filmmakers with an impressive body of work but whose titles never seem to snag US distribution. He’s been making features for the past decade, including light, frothy comedies such as a pair of Isabelle Huppert headliners like Copacabana (2010) and Paris Follies (2014), a rather loose update on Madame Bovary. He’ll unveil his fifth feature in 2016 with Maman a tort (aka Trainee Day), reuniting with Belgian actress Emile Dequenne who starred in his 2007 debut film La Vie d’Artiste. The film features rising star Jeanne Jestin (of Farhadi’s The Past) as a young woman who discovers a different side of her mother after taking a position at the same office.

Cast: Jeanne Jestin, Emilie Dequenne, Camille Chamoux, Sabrina Ouazani

Production Co.: Avenue B Productions, Versus Production

U.S. Distributor: Rights available TBD (domestic) Kinology (international).

Release Date: Fitoussi’s sophomore film, Copacabana, played at Cannes Critics’ Week, but his next two features went to much smaller festival venues. We’re hoping to see him appear in a notable line-up that will enhance the title’s chances of securing wider distribution, so we’ll see if he gets an invite back to another sidebar at Cannes.