Survival of the Fittest: Anamaria Vartolomei Joins Laura Wandel’s “L’Intérêt d’Adam”

Earlier last month we reported that actresses Léa Drucker and Noémie Merlant were going to topline Laura Wandel’s highly anticipated sophomore feature, L’Intérêt d’Adam. We now learn via the Cineuropa folks that Anamaria Vartolomei will instead take the role that was originally assigned to Merlant. Vartolomei recently gave a masterful performance in Jessica Palud’s Being Maria (read review) and has Ana Teodora Mihai’s highly anticipated Heysel 85 in the pipeline. Production begins tomorrow until the first week of September and we’ll likely be looking at a possible Cannes premiere – a competition slot is not out of the cards. Dragons Films’ Stéphane Lhoest (who produced Wandel’s brilliant debut Playground – read review) and Les Films du Fleuve’s Delphine Tomson (Julie Keeps Quiet) are the top producers on the project. Les Films de Pierre’s Marie-Ange Luciani (Anatomy of a Fall) is co-producing. the project was workshopped at the 44th Cannes Residence.

Head paediatric nurse Lucy (Drucker) permits Adam’s mother, Rebecca (Vartolomei), to remain by her son’s side, despite the judge’s strict visiting hours. When Rebecca firmly refuses to leave Adam, complications arise. To support the distressed mother, Lucy goes to great lengths, prioritizing the child’s well-being.