Emilia Perez | |
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Directed by | Jacques Audiard |
Written by | Jacques Audiard |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Paul Guilhaume[1] |
Music by |
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Production companies |
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Distributed by | Pathé[2] |
Countries |
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Language | Spanish[3] |
Budget | €21 million[2] |
Emilia Perez is an upcoming musical crime comedy film written and directed by Jacques Audiard.[4] It stars Karla Sofía Gascón in the title role, with Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, and Édgar Ramírez in supporting roles. The original songs for the film were contributed by Camille, while its original score was provided by Clément Ducol.
A woman is tasked with assisting an escaped Mexican cartel leader undergo sex reassignment surgery to both evade the authorities and affirm her gender.
In January 2022, Télérama released a 5-episode program covering in detail Audiard's pre-production for the film.[7] Audiard developed the film's screenplay from what was originally intended to be an opera libretto in four acts.[8] The title character was inspired by a chapter from Boris Razon's 2018 novel Écoute.[3] Emilia Perez marks the first time Audiard has written a film alone. However, Thomas Bidegain, who co-wrote several films with Audiard, served as a creative collaborator on the film.[9] Clément Ducol composed the original score for the film, while French singer Camille wrote all of the original songs, with the assistance of a Mexican translator, and performed them for the demo.[3] Damien Jalet choreographed the musical sequences.[8]
Filming was set to begin in autumn 2022 but was delayed by six months due to scheduling conflicts with the cast members.[4][10] It was originally set to take place on location in Mexico but was moved to a studio near Paris instead, in accordance with Audiard's wishes.[4] The interior scenes will include a reconstruction of an "authentic Mexican backdrop".[9] Audiard stated that the studio setting would afford him the ability to "produce more form" and give him "more freedom for the parts that are sung and choreographed."[8] Principal photography began in May 2023 in the Île-de-France region, before wrapping on 5 July 2023.[2][11][12]
The film is produced by Pascal Caucheteux through his company Why Not Productions, and also by Audiard and Valérie Schermann through their company Page 114;[9] in coproduction with France 2 Cinéma and Mexico's Pimienta Films.[2]
World sales are handled by The Veterans.[4] The film is expected for release in 2024.[13]